


Power Rangers: Ranger Trials

by Juggiesconverses



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV), Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Power Rangers, Power Rangers (2017)
Genre: Adorable Barry Allen, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Barry Allen Needs a Hug, Bottom Barry Allen, Dark Jughead Jones, E.J. Caswell Being an Idiot, F/M, Gen, Gina Porter & Nini Salazar-Roberts Friendship, Hurt Ricky Bowen (HSMTMTS), Jughead Jones Needs a Hug, Jughead Jones is Not Asexual, M/M, POV Alternating, POV Multiple, POV Original Character, Past Ricky Bowen/Nini Salazar-Roberts, Post-Power Rangers (2017), Protective E.J. Caswell, Protective Jughead Jones, Ricky Bowen Loves Nini Salazar-Roberts, Ricky Bowen Needs A Hug (HSMTMTS), Ricky Bowen is Whipped (HSMTMTS), Ricky Bowen/Nini Salazar-Roberts-centric, The Flash (TV 2014) References
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-24
Packaged: 2021-03-27 00:27:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 22,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30114351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Juggiesconverses/pseuds/Juggiesconverses
Summary: 𝘊𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘔𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘶𝘮 𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘞𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴5 or maybe more teens with almost nothing in common, stumble upon extremely rare artifacts that originated from an alien world.What they find turns their worlds upside down and bring them together as a team to protect all that's good in this world, and save the human race from complete armageddon, all in a few months. In midst of all the school work, training and the pressure of being good enough to wipe away the very threat to their existence, is there even time for love?A more realistic view on what it is to be a teen and a super hero at the same time.'Its all fun and games until someone dies.'
Relationships: Billy Cranston/Kimberly Hart/Jason Lee Scott/Zack Taylor/Trini, E.J. Caswell/Gina Porter, Kimberly Hart/Jason Lee Scott, Ricky Bowen & E.J. Caswell & Gina Porter & Nini Salazar-Roberts, Ricky Bowen/Nini Salazar-Roberts
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	1. Origins.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An introduction to the main characters of the story.

**'Buckle up Wildcats,** **sh** ***** **ts** **about to get real.' ~Natalie Bagley.**

**Take Notes:**

◾East high is famous for winning football tournaments, not basketball.

◾Only the characters names and the actor/actress portraying them is the same. Everything else is completely different. An AU, if you will. Also, I don't own anything, except the storyline and the original characters. All rights go to the respective owners. No copyright infringement intended in any way.

◾EJ and Ashlyn **aren't** related. EJ is an orphan.

◾Loosely based off the song 'Generation why' by Conan Gray.

Read on.

🔒🔒🔒🔒🔒🔒🔓🔓🔓🔒🔒🔒🔒🔒🔒🔒

**Characters:**

**Joshua T Bassett** as Ricky Bowen.

**I** **just need a little time** , **To prove to you that, I'm on something different**. **I know you've been hurt before, you don't have to run from me, I'm on your side.'**

Age: 16.  
Height in feet: 6ft.

Features: Honey brown eyes, golden curls and a trademark boyish grin.

Zodiac sign: A Libra at heart.

Some things you should know about him:

Richard 'Ricky' Bowen is the star Quarterback of the EHS Football team. He is quite popular but a loner and doesn't give a damn about rules. Screwed up in school many times with his football friends, landing him in detention.

**HUGE** Skaterboy vibes. 

Skateboarding and gaming enthusiast. 

Traits:  
Fierce, agressive, courageous, takes challenges head on, good at heart, born leader, short tempered, stands up for what's right, determined to win at any cost, A romantic (but doesn't say it out loud)

Hobbies: Skateboarding (He claims it keeps him grounded)

Playing the guitar: Not everyone has heard him play it, though. Also writes songs sometimes.

Best friend: Aaron Joshua Hollington

Siblings: N/A (He's the only child)

Love interests: Has been crushing on the second most popular girl in school named Nina Salazar-Roberts since sixth grade.

Relationship status :  
Used to have many casual relationships with random girls. But, unfortunately or fortunately, single.

Ricky's songs:

'Paranoid' by Trevor Daniel  
Runner by Why Don't We

**Olivia Rodrigo** as Nini 'Nina' Salazar-Roberts

**I'm not lookin' for somebody with some superhuman gifts..** **Just something I can turn to, s** **omebody I can kiss.'**

Age: 16.  
Height: 5ft 5'.

Features : Soft doe brown eyes, a button nose, long light brown hair with blonde highlights and an adorable smile. 

Zodiac : A true Pisces.

Some things you should know about her:

Nina excels in everything. She is the Queen Bee of EHS. All the straight boys in the school have a huge crush over her. She is always the first one to know the latest gossip. She stomps around, acting like a badass in her cheerleader uniform, sipping on her pink lemonade with her two lackeys Emily and Lily, but that's all it is. An act. She despises her behaviour in school, because thats not who she is, at all. She loves secretly helping out people and being caring outside of school. 

The reason she acts the way she is in school is because she's too afraid. Too afraid to let anyone in, and see the real her. And break her heart again. She had her heart broken in seventh grade, when the curly haired boy she had a collosal crush on started dating her arch nemesis. 

Traits :  
Sassy and savage on the outside, a kind hearted softie on the inside. Ambiverted. Misjudged. Afraid of getting hurt by letting someone in too much. Also a hopeless romantic. 

Hobbies: She really loves pouring her heart into writing original songs. Huge Swiftie. Nini also plays the ukulele and the piano. She is no doubt, a gifted musician, who swears by Taylor Swift, Kacey Musgraves, Lorde and Gracie Abrams.

Best friend : Nina doesn't consider anyone in the school to be her best friend. But she has a best friend from her diaper days named Frankie Wong, who lives in LA. 

Siblings : N/A. The only child for her two moms, whom she absolutely adores.

Love Interests : Shipped with the popular jock and football team captain, Brandon Worths .

Relationship status : Dating Brandon Worths.

Nina's songs:

Something just like this by Maddie Wilson .  
Wildest Dreams by Taylor Swift.  
In the name of love by Martin Garrix and Bebe Rexha.

**Sofia Wylie** As Gina Porter

**A little less time for the rest of the world, and more for the two of us.'**

Age: 16.  
Height: 5ft 9'.

Features : Curly brown-black hair, a confident smile, athletic physique.

Zodiac sign : A Capricorn, surprisingly.

Some things you should know about her: Transferred 4 schools in less than 2 years. New student. Not well known. Seems like a good person. (Actually a very bubbly and vivacious girl)

Traits:  
Listens to alternative music to block out people, calm, that aesthetic girl, amazing dancer, snappy if annoyed, a good friend. Is in Nina's classes

Hobbies: Dancing. She is one heck of a dancer.

Best friend : A girl named Sofia from her previous school

Siblings : N/A Also, the only child.

Love interests : Nobody at the moment, if you exclude that cute guy in the forest.

Relationship status : Unknown , presumed single.

Gina's songs: 

Shine a light by BANNERS

Confident by Demi Lovato

**Grant Gustin** as Aaron Hollington (OC)

**'I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad.. the dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had.'**

Age : 16.  
Height : 6ft 2'.

Features : Trademark spiked blonde hair, athletic physique, light brown eyes and a knowing grin.

Zodiac : Taurus.

Some things you should know about him: Aaron 'A- Man' is the Middle linebacker for the EHS football team. A Winning horse for East high. He loves to read and has a scientific view towards life. Especially loves scientific controversies. Ricky's best friend since they were in their diapers, but not as popular as him.

Traits:

Loyal, has mild ADHD, is a scientific reasoner, hard worker, determined, softie, loves listening to acoustic music.

Hobbies: Reading mystery novels and listening to acoustic guitar music.

Best friend : Ricky Bowen

Siblings : One younger sister named Julie , whom he is very protective of.

Love interests : None at the moment.

Relationship status : Single.

Aaron's songs:

Run away with me by Michael Arden  
Somewhere only we know by Keane

**Matt Cornett** as EJ

' **The boy who fell into the sky** **,**  
 **Had no one there to watch him cry'**

Age : 16.

Height: 6ft 2'

Features : Raven hair, stunning green eyes and a small stubble

Zodiac : A Leo.

Some things to know about him:  
EJ is an Orphan. A Loner. Not much is known about him to the citizens of Salt Lake. Usually seen hanging out near old quarries and railway coaches, woods and isolated places.

Traits :  
Quiet. Crazy. Bold. Introverted. Funny. Daring. Tried to end his life many times but failed. Lost soul. Looking for a purpose in life.

Hobbies : Kicking loose stones

Best friend : The wind.

Siblings: Unknown

Love Interest: There's this girl..

Relationship status : Single.

EJ's songs:

What if by Johnny Orlando  
Without you by Joseph.

◎●◎

**The Ranger Trials Playlist** :

● **Unstoppable** by The Score.

● **Suburbia** by Troye Sivan.

**● I** **dle town** by Conan Gray

● **Love song and For you** by Why Don't we.

● **K** **ids in America** by KJ Apa and Camila Mendes. 

● **G** **ross** by Olivia Rodrigo

● **Lovely** by Billie Eilish ft Khalid

● **Youngblood** by 5 seconds of summer

● **Look up at the stars** by Shawn Mendes

● **Falling** by Trevor Daniel.

● **Middle of the night** by Monsta X.

● **Centuries** by Fall out Boy.

● **Mad World** by Michael Andrews

That's the intro and the playlist! Chapter one coming soon!  
~  
Love, MJ ♡.


	2. No funny business, Bowen.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of everything and an unexpected meet with an old childhood friend seems to brighten up someone's day.

**_'I see them running_ **

**_'Cause they see me coming_**. ** _'_**

  
_Saturday morning, football practice._

**THE COACH** yelled instructions loudly as the players moved around in their red and white sleeveless jerseys with different numbers and their last names, tossing the ball to their partners in the hot sun, and running backwards, waving their arms in the air, to catch the ball. 

He signaled for a water break and everyone dispersed noisily, and Richard 'Ricky' Bowen, the star quarterback and his best friend Aaron Hollington sat down together on one of the benches and poured a lot of water over their heads, to cool off. Aaron and his curly haired best friend engaged themselves in discussion of match stats when few other team mates joined them, chatting merrily and splashing water on each other, with goofy smiles.

+  
Brandon Worths, the charming and buff blonde captain of the football team had a plan to kick out Bowen and Hollington. They were a menace, actually. The quarterback and the linebacker had taken his best friends' spots and they were gaining lots of popularity. If Brandon quit, he was pretty sure that the coach would make Ricky the captain. Those two had to be kicked out of the team. For good. Plus, he had to take out the anger he had pent up from morning on somebody. Brandon saw the new kid on the team. Those new kids always want approval and a feeling of being with the cool kids. He beckoned to the new kid whose name he learned was Xavier and whispered something in his ear. Xavier readily agreed, willing to do anything to please Brandon and the jocks. 

Brandon also thought of a plan B. He would seriously injure the quarterback in a small 'mishap', which would make him sit out the upcoming week's match against North High.

He went up to Coach Bolton and talked to him for roughly a few minutes. Bolton's usual smile turned into a serious expression. He nodded his head and then called everyone back on the field.

Brandon held the ball close to his chest as he ran and then threw the ball with a lot of force to the other side of the field. His aim was perfect as the ball hit Ricky square in the stomach, he doubled over in pain and fell down. A loud whistle was heard and all the players rushed to Ricky, who was clutching his stomach and breathing loudly. Aaron rushed to his side and with the help of another person, made Ricky stand up and supported his weight as they carried him to the benches. They made him sit down as the nurse gave him a ice pack. They continued the practice with a substitute.

When practice was over, Brandon talked to the coach as well, exaggerating whatever Xavier had told him. Ricky closed his eyes, the pain becoming unbearable when Coach Bolton walked up to him near the benches after almost everyone had left. 'Bowen, Hollington, I need to talk to you two.' Aaron, who was sitting next to Ricky stood up and Ricky opened his eyes. 'I have heard from not one, but two that you both have been bullying the new kid. Is this true?' Both of them opened their mouths in shock. 'Coach, you know we would never bully another teammate.' Ricky defended. 'We aren't that kind of..' Aaron trailed off as coach waved his hand in front of him, not bothered. 'Look, boys, you know that we take disciplinary actions for bullying seriously. I didn't believe it too, but what has to be done, has to be done. You're lucky I'm not telling principal Gutierrez about this. Both of you are no longer a part of this team, until you understand your actions and apologize to the poor kid.' Ricky's heart dropped.

 _No longer a part of the team? He had given everything he had for football_. Aaron wasn't taking the news too well, as he had tears welling up in his eyes. Aaron left wordlessly, and few others left, Ricky remained behind, his head buried in his hands.

_What did he do to deserve this?_

+  
Nina walked through the empty corridors of East high, her black combat boots clicking loudly against the granite tiles, echoing throughout the school. Her long brown hair with blonde highlights was perfectly combed into waves that fell over her shoulder, bouncing softly as she walked. Her lip gloss shimmered against the corridor lights, making her lips look shiny. She shook her head in disgust when she saw one of her friend's post on Instagram, with a boy at the party she had thrown yesterday evening. Nini had attended the party, like duh, she was queen bee, if she hadnt attended, no one would. It was nothing crazy, just your average friday night party filled with crazy teenagers taking sips of beer from solo cups and talking loudly while being tipsy, loud music playing, boys ogling her as she talked to her lackeys, people gathered in groups playing beer pong.. nothing special.

Today, she had to come to school to conduct some tryouts for the cheerleading squad, since she was the captain of the team. She also had to meet her boyfriend Brandon who had texted her to meet up in school, as she was on her way here.

But, where was he? She was walking past the janitors closet when she heard a low moan and a soft, growling voice she could recognise anywhere. She pulled the door open, to reveal Brandon with his tongue down someone's throat. _Scratch that_. Brandon with her lackey one, Lily.

_This f***ing jerk! How dare he?_

Brandon hurriedly shuffled away from Lily and came outside, and an embarrassed Lily stood inside the closet. Nini shut the door angrily. 'What was that, _babe_?' she spat out angrily. 'She kissed me, I promise.' he lied, in a loud voice. 'No, I didn't. You kissed me!' Lily shouted back angrily from the closet. Nini stood with her arms crossed, annoyed at her boyfriend right now. Leave it up to him to ruin her day. Again. 

'Brandon-' 'Because, you aren't enough for me, Nina. Okay, You are literally the worst girlfriend anyone could ever. A man has his needs too, you know. And as for us, I think this relationship was over months ago, when I started seeing McKenzie behind your back. You are an unlovable, pathetic creature. Don't know why I agreed to date you, or what I saw in you either.' He yelled, and they argued angrily back and forth and Brandon couldn't finish another sentence, because Nini punched his left cheek, _hard_ , her knuckles grazing his lips. He took a few seconds to process what just happened blinking rapidly, and brought a hand to his mouth and felt blood oozing from his lower lip.

_How dare she? I can do whatever I want to whoever I want. Besides, she doesn't do anything much these days._

He wiped his mouth in a rage, his eyes cold and hard, filled with rage and then lifted his hand to slap her, as he always did, but Nini's hand came up and gripped his wrist tightly. She didn't know where the suidden boldness and burst of confidence came from, but she didnt mind one bit. He opened his mouth slightly in shock, not expecting his petite girlfriend to do that.

Lily scooted out of the closet and ran away not wanting to be involved, though she already was. A crowd had gathered, whispering and taking photos with their cameras pointed at the arguing couple. Brandon brought his hand down reluctantly. Nini could feel tears streaming down her cheeks. She wiped them off roughly and whispered angrily 'I really loved you, and this is what I get. We are done. Finished. Forever.' and stormed away, brushing away her tears, but was stopped by a teacher.

_Oh great, now what?_

+  
Nina was given detention for a week for busting Brandon's lip and causing commotion, and he had been given almost two months of detention, but she didn't care. All she cared about was the fact that she loved Brandon and he did this to her. She leaned back against her chair, resting her back against it, and in one hand, she twirled a pen, not paying attention to whatever somebody was talking about.

Thinking back, both of them were forced and shipped together as the perfect couple, the cheerleading captain and the captain of the football team. They spent a lot of time together, and feelings grew stronger. But, Brandon never loved her back, he played with her feelings. Her relationship wasn't healthy at all. Brandon forced her to do a lot of things: and she always had no choice; he always controlled her. If she didn't agree, he used to slap her, beat her or scold her till she went begging back to him. Brandon would take her back and act all lovey-dovey in front of everyone in the school. She was the only one who knew about his dark side.

 _Good riddance_ , she thought to herself.

She conducted the tryouts in the gym, and picked a few girls halfheartedly. Nini needed some time to collect her thoughts and be alone, so she walked to the football field. It seemed pretty empty, so she descended the stairs and walked around the field when she saw a figure on the benches. Her curiosity led her to the figure. The figure was a 'He' who was sobbing quietly, his head in his hands, his curls sticking out through his fingers. 'He' was shirtless and an ice pack was next to him. She knew those curls.

' _He' was Ricky Bowen, the guy who saved her butt once, waaaaay back in sixth grade._ _She recalled having a crush on the curly brunette but hadn't acted upon it, scared to ruin their friendship. But he went and dated her arch nemesis Wes, the very next year. Sure Wes and Ricky only dated for like two weeks, and it was old history, but Nini couldnt seem to get it off her head. Nor could she erase the image of the sixth grade him laughing next to her, while they worked on their model of a volcano in her house._

Nini sat down next to him, keeping her bag in the next seat. 'Rough day?' she asked, looking away in the distance. He looked up and turned to her. 'Neens, what do you want?' Nini pursed her lips. She hadn't heard anyone call her that in a long time. It was a special nickname he had come up with for her, when she started calling him Ricky, which stuck, because Richard sounded like a grandpa's name.

'No, hey, hello?' she asked jokingly, looking at him, her eyes trailing down and then back up. 'Hey Nini what do you want?' 'What happened to you frumpy?' 'Let's see,' Ricky replied sarcastically, pretending to think, and held out his fingers to count. 'Ricky Bowen gets hit in the guts and get kicked out of the football team he's worked really hard to be on, along with Aaron, for bullying someone they never even heard of. It's been a great day so far.' he snapped. 'I haven't had a great day too, I don't snap at people.' she defended. 'From what I heard, you did.' Nini shook her head sadly and immediately noticed the big bluish purple bruise near the left side of his stomach. She couldn't help but also, notice his sculpted eight pack, when Ricky cleared his throat awkwardly.

 _Poor thing.. did he get first aid done? Why aren't bandages wrapped around the bruise?_

_Something has changed. They were friends in sixth grade, but as they grew older, they couldn't talk much, but exchanged polite smiles before matches and texted now and then. He had a crush on her for the longest time, but she was always with someone else._

'Take a photo, it'll last longer.' he said cheekily, with a cheeky smirk, when he noticed her gaze. 'Shut up, Bowen. Give me that.' she said playfully, and took the ice pack and a few rolls of bandages the nurse had given him. She sat down in front of him, ice pack in hand, and gingerly touched the wound. He winced at her touch, but eventually relaxed into a smile.

Nini kept the ice pack on his stomach and was too focused on helping him heal to notice his smile. She then took the bandages and was about to wrap the bruise. 'Someone knows their first aid well.' 'Oh, this.. yeah, its nothing,' she said, shaking her head, chuckling lightly; 'Plus, I owe you one, remember?' 'You don't owe me anything Nini.' 'Yes, I do -' He shook his head firmly. 'No, Neens, I don't believe in all that owe you stuff. Besides I'd do anything for you, you don't have to worry about it.' She smiled warmly, and was wrapping the bandages around his stomach. Ricky felt electric sparks, when her fingers brushed softly against his rock hard abs. Nini felt it too, but ignored it, shaking her head, and continued wrapping the bandage smiling.

Once she was done, she got up, grabbed his grey and red East High Football team hoodie lying in the corner. 'Here put it on. Can't walk around school shirtless, Bowen.' He smirked. 'Why not?' 'Might distract people' 'By people you mean the Nini Salazar-Roberts?' Nini blushed slightly but didn't know why.

 _Seriously this boy_ _, he'll be the death of me._

'Its NinA, not NinI, Bowen. Seriously, you're the only one who calls me that.' 'It's cute and quirky, kinda suits you.' 'Whoa, Bowen, chill. I'm just helping a friend out, that's all.' 'Thanks Neens. For whatever you just did' 'Don't worry about it.' 'YeP' he said, popping the 'p'. There was a comfortable silence between them, as he slipped on the hoodie with a sigh.

'So, headed home?' she asked. 'Yeah kinda, my parents don't want me going back there since I'm a disgrace and all, so I probably stay at Aaron's till they cool off.' he said and tried to get up slowly, and failed, falling back to the bench on his butt, which made nini let out an amused laugh. She helped him up, putting his arm around her shoulder, making a sudden decision. 'So, I was thinking.. you have an injury and can't even go anywhere without support..' 'Stating obvious, Neens.' 'Yeah, I can take care of you.' 'So, you're suggesting..?' 'You stay with me.' 'Nah, its okay.' Nini gave him a look. 'Just kidding, okay fine. But what about your parents?' 'Eh, they're out of town for like a month..' 'But..' 'No funny business with me, Bowen. I'm serious. Besides, I could use a real friend I've had enough of all the fake ones. Deal?' She asked seriously. 'Deal.' Ricky agreed, grinning widely, and held out his hand to shake hers. When she didn't, he dropped it, with another sigh, and they made their way to her house.


	3. All by yourself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five teens. At the same place. At the same time. Five months before armageddon. Needed: Five power rangers. Coincidence? I think not.

_**'** _ **_I'm too young for dying_ **  
**_'Cause there's a dream I can taste.'_ **

\+ 

_Two days later._

' **HERE BOWEN** , this should help.'  
'Uh yeah' he said, nodding his head and taking the ice pack and placing it on the bruise that was slightly getting better.

Ricky was relaxing on the couch, immensely enjoying watching some football match, while Nini was busy doing something in the kitchen. She came back with two plates of cheese and tomato pasta and plopped down next to the shirtless boy on the couch. She handed the plate, and he gobbled it down and set the plate down on the table next to him, his eyes on the television. He struggled to put on his red shirt and then slipped into a navy blue hoodie, (and Nini of course helped him)

Once the match on the tv ended, he decided he needed some exercise. He had been cooped up inside the house for two days now, and needed to stretch out his muscles and get some air, ignoring the fact that he had a stomach injury. 'I'm gonna go for a walk around here.' he announced, looking at the brunette, who was looking for something in the fridge. She lifted up her head and looked back at him. 'Ricky, you mean the woods.. You can't just take off to the woods like that! You can barely even wear a shirt, let alone trudge through the woods!' A small idea popped up in his head. 'Nah, its okay. I'll be okay.' he said nonchalantly, smirking, knowing his plan was kind of working. 'No way I'm letting you go off, all by yourself, Bowen. I'm coming along.' He mocked a disappointed expression and pressed his lips together, sighing in a exaggerated manner. 'Fine, come on!' Nini went back upstairs to her room and put a pastel pink hoodie on, as she was wearing just a white crop top and some denim shorts.

They headed for the woods, it was a pretty dull and chilly day. A gentle breeze rustled through the trees, filling the woods with a soothing rustling sound.

+  
 _EJ._

 _Kicking stones_. His favourite pastime. Ever since his parents had died, he lost his aim in life. He lost the will to go on, lead a better life, instead he spent time staring at the horizon for days together, from the abandoned railway station and exploring the woods. EJ knew the woods like the back of his hand, every tree, every rock.

Today, he had stumbled upon a part of the woods he had never seen before. The trees were much greener here and even the grass looked much more alive. He whistled a tune to himself as he walked around, taking in the sight.

He stopped in his tracks when he heard voices. To be specific, two voices. _One, No one ever came to the woods. Two, who the heck?_ He listened carefully as he heard a feminine voice joke about something and a guy laugh along with her. He followed the trail of their voices carefully, untill they stopped talking. Dead silence. _'What in the world-?'_ the girl exclaimed. He scanned the surroundings and then he saw it. An old cabin. He heard a rustling of leaves on the ground and turned around. 'Oh, It's _you.'_ he said, sighing in relief. The girl gave him a polite nod. He had met this girl a few weeks ago. She kept him company now and then, getting him some food and clothes. She was his only friend, and he couldn't deny the obvious butterflies in his stomach when they hugged or even when their fingers brushed against each other.

'So, what are you doing here?' she asked, looking around. He signalled for her to come closer and showed her the two people who were walking ahead close to each other, and told her in a whisper to stay quiet and follow him. She reluctantly agreed and both of them trailed the couple walking ahead.

+  
Ricky and Nini, were caught up in their own world, falling into a comfortable conversation, unaware of EJ and Gina following them. They joked and teased each other, and that day was the day Nini saw the actual Ricky, the one she spent a lot of time with in her younger years. She was slowly, very slowly, letting her guard down with him. He didn't struggle to walk that much, to Nini's surprise. When they saw a old cabin in the woods, they were taken aback. ' _Who would've thought?'_ They went closer and saw that it wasn't in such a bad state as they expected it to be.

They felt an aura of sorts radiating from the cabin. As they approached it, the waves of aura grew stronger. A thick mist surrounded the woods around them, so when they looked back, they couldn't see the path they walked on. This place looked _shady._ As if reading her thoughts, Ricky's hand squeezed hers gently, and he gave her a warm smile. She could feel butterflies in her stomach. _What's this boy doing to me?_

They almost reached the cabin when they heard a sound behind them. _Footsteps. Help,_ Nini's internal voice screamed. She struggled to keep a poker face on the outside, trying not to let her panic show. Both of them turned around immediately, but could only see the mist. Ricky stood in front of her instinctively.

'Whoever it is.. come out, we know you're there!' he shouted loudly, looking around.

A few seconds passed and they heard louder footsteps. And two figures appeared. A tall raven haired boy and a girl with curly hair, about Nini's height, with pastel yellow headphones dangling from her neck. 'Wait you're the Nina Salazar-Roberts?' the girl asked, surprised, recognising Nina. 'Gina Porter? Hey aren't you in like English class? What are you doing here?' Nini replied, recalling her name. 'I was walking around here, you know collecting thoughts. Oh and this is-' The raven haired boy spoke up 'I'm EJ. Not many people come here often. So I was wondering what you guys are doing here?' _He's cute_ , Nini thought. _Snap out of it, now and answer the question,_ she chided herself mentally. 'Oh, um we were just walking around.' Ricky replied, to which Nini nodded.

The mist around them grew stronger and the clouds in the sky turned grey. 'It's gonna rain, _soon_.' EJ noted, looking up, and then at the three of them. 'But we can't go back.. ' 'How about we stay in the cabin till we can find a way out?' Ricky suggested. They all agreed in unison and went to the cabin. EJ tried opening the door, but the door handle broke and fell to pieces in his hand. Gina tried kicking the door open, but to no avail. They were standing on the doorway, thinking of ideas to open the door, hoping it wouldnt rain any time soon, when they heard footsteps. This time, a tall figure with blonde spiky hair was faintly visible in the mist. Ricky would recognize that hair anywhere. 'Aaron, we're here!' he shouted, to which Aaron shouted back a reply 'Okay, I'm almost there!'

Aaron trudged through the mud and walked to the doorway, his mouth agape when he saw Nina, and two others. 'What are you guys doing here?' he asked. They briefly explained everything and he shook his head understanding the difficulties because he himself was struggling to see the road in front of him. Aaron then told them that he had come in search of Ricky, who was supposed to hang out with him that evening. Gina explained about how they all tried to open the door. He just chuckled, and kept his right hand on the edge of the door and pushed it forward. The door opened easily, and everyone opened their mouths in shock. 'How did you-' 'What did you do-'

He just laughed and shook his head and went inside and others followed. It was a cosy cabin, not dusted but cosy. Ricky and Nini separated from the group and roamed around the house and found some essentials. It was a good thing they went in, for a heavy downpour started almost half an hour later. Aaron looked around and found some old blankets and a few chairs. Gina and EJ did a pretty good job dusting together and finished in an hour. They got a fire going in the fireplace and sat down together, in a circle, to keep warm and keep others company.

The downpour worsened turning into a heavy storm and everyone was glad they could stay in the cabin. Nini took special care of Ricky, and Gina was getting comfortable with EJ. It was getting pretty late and then EJ had an idea. He ran into every room, frantically searching for something, everyone just chuckling and laughing. EJ gave up hope, but saw a wooded chest. 'Bingo' he said, rubbing his palms together excitedly.

The other four entered and saw the wooden chest. EJ carefully brought it out from the dusty corner and wiped the surface with his hand. 'I go looking for such stuff all the time. Once found a chest full of money.' he said excitedly and with Aaron and Ricky, he opened the chest.

There was a silky golden cloth covering something. Aaron gently lifted the cloth and couldn't believe his eyes. Everyone gasped. 'What is this?' He asked, referring to the glowing artifacts in the chest. 

They felt drawn to it, and leaned closer to take a better look.


	4. English, Aaron.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The teens uncover the very alien artifacts that change their lives forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here, the helmets mentioned are the 2017 version, not the previous MMPR version.  
> Nuff said.

' ** _Can you feel where the wind is?_**

**_Cause its blowing through this room.'_ **

+

' **WHAT IS** this?' Ricky said out loud, gesturing at the chest, clearly confused. Inside the chest lay five different coloured metallic and shiny mini helmets. Gina picked up the yellow helmet. 'Looks pretty good, I might keep it.' Nini and Aaron were silent the whole time, thinking about something.

Ricky felt drawn to the red one and picked it up. 'Woah, this is shiny.' he said and tossed it around in the air and caught it jokingly. There were 3 left. EJ wordlessly put his hand in the chest and took out the black helmet. He held it out in the light, in two fingers. It caught the light and shone with a metallic tint. He attached it to a silver chain he had hanging near his right pocket. Aaron took the blue one and examined the surface while Nini peeked inside the chest and saw the pretty pink helmet. She took it out carefully and looked at it in awe. _The detailing on this.._ _incredible._

'So what do you think this is?' Gina spoke up. 'I don't know yet, but whatever it is, it's light weight.' Aaron responded, looking up. 'What do you mean light weight?' Aaron opened his mouth to answer when Nini saw something embossed on the bottom. 'Hey guys..?' she called. 'Yeah?' they said in unison and walked closer to her, shoulders touching. 'Look at this.' she said and ran her finger on the bottom of the helmet. 'Something's here..'  
They took out their helmets and saw the bottom. Their helmets too, had something embossed. A symbol. Ricky took out his phone, switched on the flashlight, and shone it on the helmets. _All of them had the same symbol. A triple thunderbolt of sorts?_ Aaron thought to himself.

_This is definitely cool_ , Ricky thought to himself. After a few seconds of examining the thunderbolt, Ricky broke the silence. 'Should we keep it? I mean it looks harmless..' 'Yeah..' 'We probably should..' 'We found it anyway..' 'Okay' they said agreeing. Ricky pulled out the dog tag chain he was wearing and attached the red helmet to it. EJ clipped the helmet back to the chain dangling near his pocket, Aaron carefully wrapped his helmet in the golden cloth and kept it in his pocket. The boys left the room in search of some food, Gina and Nini talked for a bit, and Gina saw, in the corner of her eye saw a paper envelope and a black leather covered book. She told Nini, who took it out and gave it to her, they both scrutinized the items and then kept it in Gina's bag. Nini slid her helmet into her pocket and they left the room.

The storm settled down for a bit, but it was still too risky to go out. They decided to spend the night.

EJ and Gina dozed off in each others arms on some old couch. Ricky smirked at Nini, who understood and smirked back. The chemistry between EJ and Gina was too obvious to not notice. Both of them took out their phones and took a picture of the sleepy couple, to show them later.

  
+  
Ricky's mind was bursting with thoughts. He stood in front of a window, his hands resting on the sill, trying to take his mind off things. The walk here, kinda helped him relax in a way. He too was surprised when he didn't feel a lot of pain when he walked. When he was walking with Nini earlier, their shoulders brushed against each other and he felt something he couldn't exactly describe. After that, he felt a sudden surge of strength, which helped him walk normally.

This whole cabin was totally something different. Why wouldn't the door open till Aaron came? What did those helmets do? He pulled out his dog tag chain and closed his fingers around the helmet, and closed his eyes. _What is this? What am I supposed to do?_ _Show me a sign._ he thought to himself. He felt light headed, but didn't sit down. A reddish tint covered a memory as the memory unfolded, exactly how he remembered it in front of his eyes.

_*Flashback*_  
_Ricky stood in the corridor to the living room from the door, sunlight was filtering through the blinds. His dad stood there, with an angry expression on his face, his hands crossed. His mother, stood near the couch with a blank expression, unable to react. He tried to move, but he couldn't. Everything happened in a slow motion. His dad scolded him for getting kicked out of the team and he could hear his own voice, defending himself, telling his parents to believe him. He was innocent. His father shook his head in annoyance and scolded him some more. Ricky's voice erupted into a loud shout, screaming ' I'm not the golden boy you want me to be okay?! You just push all your dreams on me. I did football for you! Dad, You! You discourage me from writing music, telling me to focus on my football career. Why? All because..- Never mind, I'm leaving. Don't look for me, okay? You should've believed me when I told you I was innocent.' Ricky felt his body move to the door, his right hand turn the knob, and slammed the door shut angrily, rubbing the tears streaming down his cheeks._

The flashback ended and another one started. Ricky didn't know what to do, he just immersed himself in the flashback.

 _'Don't brag, Bowen. Your head is swelling up, along with your ego.' she said with a chuckle. He felt a warm feeling in his chest, the view in front of him was simply too good to be true. A low breeze blew through the woods, a few strands of hair moving slightly for the breeze. He took in every detail, her soft brown eyes, her cute nose she scrunched while she laughed or when she was excited, the corners of her mouth that turned up slightly whenever she told his name, her long, brown hair, with blonde highlights he so wanted to touch, her petite frame,everything. She was too good to be true. Her cold walls were slowly melting away with him. And, boy was he glad, when he heard she broke up with Brandon. That guy was a first class jerk. Ricky would treat Nini like a queen, if only.. He was snapped out of his thoughts when Nini waved her hand front of him. 'Daydreaming now, Bowen?' 'Uh, no-_ _wha-_ ' ' _Okay, fine, maybe. Can't help it' he said and raised his arms in mock desperation. The corners of her mouth turned up slightly, and he smiled back._

 _Another memory overlapped this one, where he could see nothing, well except for a red tint. Then, he heard her voice and instantly, he somehow felt a little better. He lifted his head to see her sitting next to him, as they conversed, she smiled, chuckled, and did literally anything and looked adorable. She was sitting on the ground, wrapping a bandage when her fingers brushed against his abs._ This time, he looked at her face and swore he saw the smallest amount of blush rising on her cheeks. She just shook her head, laughing and continued to wrap bandages.

_Stop being a simp, Ricky, focus, he chided himself._

The flashback ended. Ricky's eyes fluttered open, and it took him a moment to realize he was standing in front of a window, his fingers tightly closed around the helmet. He opened his hand, and chuckled to himself. 'What even is this?' Nini walked in and he turned almost immediately towards her. 'So, uh, Bowen, since you gave me a not so bad nickname, I'm considering calling you Ricky from now on. How does that sound?' 'Mhmm' was all he could say. 'Gina had some protein bars, and Aaron was wondering where you went. You should probably..' 'Yeah' he said and gave her a single nod and they went back to the living room. Aaron handed him a protein bar as he sat down on the couch next to Nini, who was talked to him for some time and then went deep into her thoughts. He munched on it, half heartedly listening to EJ narrate some incident.

It was way past midnight, Gina and Ricky were the only ones awake. Nini had fallen asleep on Ricky's shoulder and Aaron slept on some old mattress. EJ snored softly, his body leaning back against a wall near the fireplace. The fire dulled out and finally got extinguished and soon, Ricky's eyelids closed too.

+  
_The next morning._  
Nini's eyes fluttered open, taking in the sight around her. She was on a couch, her arm was around Ricky's waist, her head was on his shoulder. He had wrapped his hand around her waist. She got up slowly, not wanting to wake him up. Gina's head was on EJ's chest, and Aaron's mattress was empty. 'Hey Nina!' she heard someone call from a distance. She opened the door, and saw Aaron sitting in the grass in the middle of the clearing, something in his hand. She rubbed her eyes, her eyes taking a few seconds to adjust to the bright light outside and then walked over to him.

'Look at what I found.' he said, pointing to a book. Nini gasped. It was the same leather book she and Gina had found. 'Call me Nini. But, where did you find it?' she said, sitting down next to him, her legs crossed. 'On the floor, next to Gina.' 'Okay, that's weird.. so what did you learn?' 'Not a lot to be honest, I also think you won't believe me.' 'Try me.' 'Okay, you asked for it.'

He took a deep breath. 'According to this page, there will be an increased metabolic rate in your body and the cells will have some kind of mutation? It's like the cells are modified entirely, restructured right to the last atom, and charged with super charged energy. Not sure about the last part though' Aaron explained, in one breath. 'English, Aaron.' Nini reminded him, to which he said 'Oh, yeah right.. According to this, we get better physically and mentally of sorts.' 'You mean we get powers?' she asked, still not following. 'Yeah, something like that. Only one thing, Nini, don't lose the helmet. Its really complex, I should do some research on that and we can't afford to lose it...' 'Got it.' she said, smiling at him. He got up and dusted his pants. 'We should wake the others. Shoot is that the time?' he said, looking at his watch. Nini opened her phone and saw the time. 'Crap, I think we skipped like 2 classes already.' 'Hey, isnt today some holiday, like didn't the geyser break down?' he asked, his fingers rubbing his chin. 'Yeah!' she realized and got up, and headed to the cabin, with Aaron to wake the others. Aaron went to wake up EJ and Gina, purposefully leaving Nini to wake Ricky up, smiling to himself.

_Ricky's little crush on Nini was too obvious._

Nini tapped on Ricky's shoulder, 'Ricky, wake up,' she repeated a few times but he didn't get up. She got an idea. 'Oww' she exclaimed, for no reason. Ricky immediately got up. 'Neens, are you okay? What happened?' he asked panicking, in a raspy morning voice, which Nini found cute. No, Nini, he's your friend.

'Ugh, took you long enough.' She groaned, 'Ricky, you sleep like a log, it took me so long to wake you up..' 'So you're okay?' he asked, running his hand through his curls. 'Bowen.' She said, giving him a look. 'Hey, no Bowen remember?' he said, mock hurt. Her lips curled into a smile. 'Right.' 'Okay then guess I'm going back to sleep.' he said and pretended to go back to sleep. Nini grabbed a pillow and hit him playfully. 'Oh no, you're not!' He blocked the pillow and took another pillow and both of them had a pillow fight until Ricky realised something.

He removed his shirt. It was gone. 'Nini, look.' he said, pointing to his abs. 'Jeez, Ricky, stop showing off. I've seen them already.' _And drooling over them,_ she thought to herself. Ricky laughed to himself. 'What's so funny?' 'Some thoughts are not meant to be spoken out loud, Neens. I heard that.' _Crap. I said that out loud_ , she thought, a blush rising to her cheeks. Her eyes travelled back to his abs, and she gasped. 'Ricky, look its gone!' she said, coming closer and pointing to the injury. 'Yeah, that's what I wanted to show you.' She reached out her hand and touched the spot where it was previously injured. Ricky felt electricity pass through him, again.

Nini felt butterflies, which this time, she didn't ignore. She had a strange attraction to this boy, but, didn't know why. Nini withdrew her hand and they got lost in each other's eyes their lips inching closer, until they were interrupted by Gina's entrance into the room, which made it awkward for everyone, because Ricky was shirtless, Nini was inches away from him, and Gina's entrance was kinda awkward too. They all stood wordlessly, waiting for the other two to speak.

»  
_Spam the comments!_  
_Hope you liked this chapter! Give it a kudos and give me a follow too :)_

 _See you on the next one,_  
_As always all my love_ ,  
_~MJ♡_


	5. I said now.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An awkward and sudden entrance makes things complicated.

_**'We should chill me and you if it's alright** _

_**You should be my, you should be mine.'** _

+  
 **AARON ENTERED** the room abruptly to talk to his curly haired bestfriend, unaware of the situation going on inside. 'Hey, Rickster, If this is about you and Ni-'

Ricky shook his head from side to side, pointing to Nini, with an embarassed and forced grin, as she turned around to face the blonde. Aaron understood and nodded his head, taking a second to realize. 'Yeah, the ni.. uh.. night sky project thing, I'll just be outside.' he said, trying to cover up the lie with an awkward laugh, then left. Nini cleared her throat, in an embarassed manner and turned back to face him. 'I should probably.. ' she trailed, gesturing towards the door, and started walking towards it. 'Yeah' he replied immediately, and she left, her ears red. Gina stood for a moment and then left. Ricky sighed wearily and put on his shirt and the hoodie. _'Hey, at least the bruise is gone'_ he thought to himself amd smiled. 

He walked out of the room, and saw the other four talking, when he got an idea. 'Hey guys?' he said, and everyone turned to him. 'We don't exactly know what this is. We should keep in touch, you know just in case.' They agreed, nodding their heads and murmuring a yes, yeah, we should etcetra, and put in their numbers in others phones and gave back the phones to the respective owners, except EJ. EJ stood quietly, fiddling with his metal rings, and looking down at the floor. Nini and Ricky noticed that. 'What's wrong EJ?' Nini inquired. 'My phone broke around 3 months ago..' he said, hesitantly, almost in a whisper, still not looking up at her. 'Oh' the four said, in unison.

Gina made a mental note to get EJ a phone ASAP, as a few minutes later, the others decided to head out of the cabin and go back home. She would see the three of them in school, but EJ? They all had to meet in a common place. She got a brainwave, and ran to catch up with the others, who were talking, EJ leading the way out of the forest, since he knew it like the back of his hand. 

»  
 _Next day_.

Nini groaned, reading the text on her phone, leaning against the wall in the front of her house.

_Another 2 months, seriously? They've been gone for like a month now._ _Anyway, that gives me more time to spend with our gang._

Her thoughts drifted to Ricky, the so called 'leader?' of the gang. 

_Where is he, anyway? Oh, yeah, he mentioned something about going back home, to talk to his parents or something.._

She spotted Ricky walking towards her, his footsteps heavy and uneven and slipped her phone back into her pocket. His eyes were red, from crying, and he hugged himself as he walked. 'What's wrong, Ricky?' she asked, concerned, once he came to a halt in front of her. He looked at her for a moment, before answering. 'My parents.. they um, kicked me out.' he said, in almost a whisper, tears threatening to fall any minute now. 'Oh,' she exclaimed, and then she thought for a good minute. 'You could stay with me, as long as you want, Ricky.' 'Wait, really?' he asked, unsure, his face lighting up a bit. 'Yeah, of course.' A small smiled made its way to his face, as he impulsively wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight. Nini didn't know how to react, but just melted into the hug with a small smile. She smelled like lavender and vanilla, and he found that comforting, in a strange way. He let go and she just smiled warmly at him.

_His day had gotten a whole lot better, all thanks to her._

Gina and EJ and Aaron walked up to Nini's house. 'Guys, guys!' Gina said, excitedly, 'EJ agreed to attend school, and we pulled a few strings and got him to join our school!' 'With my skills of course..' Aaron added, cockily, then added 'Oh who am I kidding, my dad's on the school board. He agreed to give EJ an education.' for which everyone laughed. 'What about expenses?' Ricky asked, for which EJ replied immediately, 'Remember the money I found a while back? That'll be enough' he said. 'Okay then, let's get you the stuff, and off to school we go, even if we hate it there.' Nini replied, groaning. 'Hey, I'll obviously make it a thousand times better.' Ricky said cheekily, for which Nini rolled her eyes and slapped his arm lightly, as they walked together. They went to a local store that was on their way to school first and got everything EJ needed.

Everyone also planned to surprise EJ with a phone. 'First day of school, dude. You'll need this.' Ricky said and handed him a box with a brand new iPhone, in it. 'How will I ever thank you guys?' he said, happy tears welling up, and a wide smile spread across his face. 'No one ever cared for me like this ever before.' 'Ahem' Gina said, for which everyone shook their head jokingly, laughed and headed for school.

+  
Everyone whispered rumors about Nini and Ricky being a couple, and that Brandon was actually innocent. Bull crap. 

'Isnt that the new girl? What is she doing with the 3 screw ups of this school?' 'Who's the new cutie?' said someone referring to EJ, earning a stink eye from Gina. The gang stuck together and walked to the admissions office, where EJ got his time table and other stuff. He was pretty excited that they all pretty much were in the same class for everything.

They were headed to the homeroom, when they were stopped by the two most obnoxious girls in the school, aka Nini's ex- lackeys, Lily and Emily. Nini clenched her jaw and balled her fists at the very sight of them. The other four noticed, but didnt utter a word.

_Not these two fools again._

'Need these bodyguards, Nina? From what I heard, you hurt poor Brandon all by yourself. What a shame you messed up his pretty face. I heard he had to get four stitches.' Lily said in a nasty tone, trying to provoke Nini. It took everything in Nini's power not to slap some sense into these brainless girls, when Ricky sensed her tension, and put his hand on her shoulder, and it weirdly calmed her down. 'Yeah, and now you join hands with these screw ups?' Emily added, trying to add to the growing tension in the air. All three girls maintained cold and cocky eye contact, and you could literally cut the tension in the air with a knife. Nini sassed, 'Shut up, airheads and get out of my sight. Now.' 'Don't forget you were one of us too.' they both said in unison, with a disgusting smirk across their faces. 'I said now.' 'Seriously, Nina, you forget your roots..' Lily started again.

_Seriously, couldn't this girl take a fricking hint and do everyone a favour by leaving?_

'Lily that's Lance over there. Snack time!' Emily reminded, eyeing the hot new kid who was leaning against his locker. 'Bye loser.' Lily added in a haughty tone and left, walking away with her nose in the air. Emily sassed a 'Ciao' and left. The others stood wordlessly, not wanting to interfere with her or her frenemies.

She walked to class and plopped down in the last bench, ignoring the boos and other weird noises people made at her, feeling everyone's eyes bore into the back of her skull as she sat down with a 'I'm in no mood for your bull crap' expression. Everyone took their seats and the class began. Nini rested her elbows on the desk and zoned out in infrequent intervals, and tried her best to take notes of the history lecture going on. Ricky bounced his leg up and down impatiently, waiting for the class to end, doodling random scribbles in the corners of the pages of his book.

Halfway through the lesson, Aaron who sat across the room from Nini, tore a sheet off and wrote something on a small piece of it and folded it neatly into a rocket and tossed it to Ricky, who caught the paper rocket between two of his fingers accurately, to his own surprise. He opened it with a small smirk and read the contents and wrote something down with the pencil sticking out of his book and threw the note to EJ who read it, scribbled, passed it on to Gina, who sat right behind Nini. She read it, wrote something and passed it on to the brunette sitting in front of her.

Nini opened it cautiously, not exactly expecting a note from anybody in this class. There were a few random drawings on the edges. It read:

' _We need to talk to someone about this. I know someone. Today at 4?~A_.'

' _Yeah_ ' Ricky had scrawled. EJ has scribbled something that looked like an ' _okay_ ' and Gina's neat writing had an ' _Sure_ '. Nini shook her head, chuckling. ' _Couldn't you guys text in the group chat instead?'_ she wrote. and threw it to Ricky, who eagerly opened it, as hei caught it in the air. ' _Where's the fun in that?'_ he sent back. She half laughed and covered it up with a cough when the teacher sent her a glare, and she scribbled back an okay to Aaron, who was deep in thought, looking out the window. He read it a few minutes later and nodded at her, and went back to his thoughts.

»  
 _Cafeteria_ _._  
The cafeteria buzzed with activity. Nini sat in a deserted table all by herself, with a sigh. People kept staring at her, and she couldn't care less. _Where is everyone?_ Aaron and Ricky arrived out of breath. Ricky's eyes scanned the cafeteria and all the students moving around, looking for a certain brunette and stopped when he saw Nini.

They grabbed a tray, and got their lunches and sat down. Gina and EJ came in, casually talking and shoving each other playfully. The five had a peaceful lunch talking and joking, forgetting about the rude comments they could hear. Aaron was munching, his mouth full of salad, fork hovering in the air and spoke up, looking at them. 'Guys, I found out a lot more about the helmets in the book and I couldn't really understand what they said. It mentioned a name which I obviously, cross referenced, with the address directory and it hit a match. She lives near the outskirts. We need to pay her a visit.' They all sat in silence, well, silence except for the chewing noises and the sound of the spoon hitting the plate multiple times, taking in the new information. 'Wait, so they're not fancy key chains?' EJ asked in a dense manner, and everyone laughed. 'Of course not.' Ricky replied in a weird tone, which made everyone suspicious of him, but they just let it go, deciding not to pursue their suspicion. He just gulped and continued, looking at Aaron and kept his fry down. 'Guys, Seriously, until we know more about this, we can't be certain of anything.' He said, which everyone agreed to. 'We are so gonna visit her, aren't we?' EJ asked, 'You have too many questions..' Nini complained, playfully.

_We are definitely visiting this 'lady.' I wonder what's she's like._

_»_

_Leave a kudos and a comment or two, if you enjoy this story so far! I promise, things get crazier._ ;)

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See ya!


	6. Ricky.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who is this lady they are on their way to meet? Can she help figure things out?

' _ **If only you saw what I can see,**_

_**You'll understand why I want you so desperately**_ '

+

**RICKY FIDDLED** with the seam of his jacket impatiently, waiting for Nini to get ready and for the others to arrive. He saw Aaron and EJ walking towards the house, Aaron showing something on his phone to EJ, as the other boy nodded his head, laughing.

They stopped in front of the house, and Aaron slipped his phone back into his pocket. They saw Ricky and waved in a friendly manner at him. Ricky descended the stairs and went and greeted them. Nini descended the stairs a few minutes later, wearing a jean jacket on a black hoodie and some ripped black jeans. 

Ricky stared at her in awe, oblivious to his friends looking at him and stifling their laughter. She walked down and stood near Ricky. 'What's so funny?' she asked them, noticing EJ and Aaron stifling their laughter, not seeing Ricky there. They pointed at Ricky, who looked at her as if no one else existed. Nini turned to her left, and caught his gaze, a blush rising to her cheeks. 'Ricky.' she said and snapped her fingers in front of his face. 'Uh, what?' he said, coming back to reality, blinking rapidly.

She shook her head in mock sadness, looking down. 'What will I do with you?' The other two continued to laugh at his obliviousness, while Ricky stood confused. 

Everyone's attention turned to the running figure, that grew bigger and bigger. Gina came running, clutching the straps of her bagpack, completely out of breath. She stopped in front of them and put her hands on her knees and bent down and exhaled loudly. 'That run was definitely not recommended. Who knew the school would be that far away?' she said, after a minute. They laughed lightly at her joke.

'We should get going.' EJ suggested. 'Yeah and there is five of us, but only one car?' Nini asked, looking up at the raven haired boy. 'I have my truck. I could fit like 3 people.' Ricky chimed. 'And I wouldn't mind another person going with me.' Aaron said. They decided that Aaron and EJ would go together in Aaron's car, and the rest in Ricky's car. Aaron's car was parked in a nearby empty garage. He drove it to Nini's house and they all headed off, after Aaron told Ricky the route he had to take.

Nini sat next to Ricky in the front, humming to herself, while looking outside the window, talking to Ricky now and then. Gina plugged in her headphones and listened to some music in the back. Ricky kept a hand on the steering wheel and another on his thigh, driving in silence, occasionally stealing glances at Nini, who looked content. They reached the location in around thirty minutes and waited inside the car, as Ricky started talking to Nini, for Aaron and EJ, who meanwhile had a blast, joking and talking about the most random things, and singing along to some weird English songs, that played on Aaron's playlist.

They almost missed the spot, but spotted Ricky's (dad's old one, but now his) red pickup truck and sighed in relief. They stepped out of the car, and knocked on Nini's window pane. Everyone got out of the car, looking around. 'Is this the place?' Nini asked, for which Aaron responded 'Yeah. Cross- referenced it twice with the directory. She moved in less than 2 years ago. Let's go meet her.' 'Hey, we might need this, right?' Gina said, pulling the leather book. A paper envelope stuck out of the pages. 'We'll definitely need that.' Ricky said.

+

The gang headed to the house, not knowing how to talk to the person, or whether she still lived there, or if she was home. Everyone stood behind Ricky, who rang the doorbell. A few seconds later, a brunette opened the door. She had short messy hair, which took the teens by surprise. They expected an old lady, or some harsh mid fifties lady. Not a teen?

»  
_**Introducing Naomi Scott as**_ _ **Kimberly Hart.**_

_About her:_ _Early twenties. Extremely fit. Heart broken. Doesn't socialize much. Moved to SLC less than 4 years ago._

+  
She eyed the five teens suspiciously. Five teens, especially three boys and two girls was never a good sign.

_Nope_.

Memories came flooding back when she saw them. A tall, athletic boy with blonde spiked hair cleared his throat awkwardly.

_Looks so similar._

'Uh, I'm sorry, but can we come in? Its kinda important.' A tall boy with curly brown hair said. She nodded her head slightly and held the door open, and one by one, they came in. One girl, in particular, reminded her of herself. Same taste in clothes and accessories. The way she interacted with the others - the exact same. _Who is she?_

She gestured towards the sofas and everyone sat down, and made themselves comfortable. She sat down in a single sofa across them. 'I'm Kimberly but you can call me Kim, what are your names?' she asked, politely.

'Ricky' the curly haired boy said, 'EJ' a raven haired boy spoke, 'Gina' A curly haired girl said, 'Aaron' said the guy who somewhat looked like.. him.

'Nini' said the girl, who interested Kim. 'Um, we're here, because we thought you could help us.' Ricky spoke up, confidently.

_Definitely, a Red._

'What kind of help can I offer?' she asked politely. A silent message passed through the gang and they took out small objects, one each from various pockets and one, from a dog tag. 'What's that?' she asked, squinting her eyes in interest. 'We found these day before yesterday. Do you know what these are, Kim?' Nini asked, and took all the helmets and kept it on the table in front of her. Kim got up and went closer to the table. She caught a glimpse of pink and picked it up. It was a detailed helmet, no doubt.

_The amount of energy and power it was radiating was so much.. Ooh, these kids.. they're in for a ride._

She bit the inner part of her cheek, kept the pink helmet down, and sat next to the gang.  
'Well, you're in for a rollercoaster ride.' she said vaguely. 'What do you mean?' Aaron asked. 'Okay, I have to explain this in a way you all can understand..' she said, and thought for a second. 'Do you remember what happened near Angel Grove nearly 7 years ago?' 'Yeah, there was a earthquake and some kind of police saved a lot of lives..?' Gina said, unsure. 'No, that's not what happened. I'll tell you the truth, but I don't think you'll believe me.' Kim said with a sad sigh. 'Try me.' Nini and the others said, in unison.

'Okay, here goes. There was a group of five screw ups who met in detention one morning. That evening, they all were somehow were in the same place. They found five glowing coins, which changed their lives forever. When the existence of the human race was threatened, these five teens trained with their new found powers and defeat the threat. ' 'What does this have to do with us?' EJ asked. 'That happened nearly seven years ago.. and' she said, pausing to exhale loudly, 'I was one of them.' 'Wait, so you were a part of the police who saved so many lives?' Ricky asked, not able to catch on.

'No, I was a part of the five teens, and we weren't anywhere near police. We were called the _Power Rangers_.'

They all looked at her wordlessly, waiting for her to continue. 'Each of us got a different colored coin that gave us powers. I was the Pink Ranger.' 'Wait.. what do you mean..was?' Nini asked, looking at her in a confused manner. 'We defeated the threat. But then, three of the five mysteriously disappeared after we won. Without a trace. Gone. So we were kinda disbanded.' she said, looking down at the wooden panel flooring and trying hard to control her emotions, that had been bottled up for so long.

'So, wait.. does that mean.. there is five of us.. we each found one different colored helmet.. does this mean..?' Aaron said, slowly catching on. 

_'We're the Power Rangers.'_ Ricky and Nini said together, and looked at each other in surprise, and then turned back to Kim, cheeks slowly burning up. 

The other three opened their mouths in shock, unable to process what they'd heard. 'Yeah' Kim replied, nodding her head in the affirmative. 

EJ gulped 'Did I just hear you say we're _Power Rangers_?' he asked. 

'Yes. You are the Power Rangers. Ricky is the Red ranger, Nini the pink, just like me, and Aaron.. you're the black ranger?' Kim asked, looking at him. 'No, I have the blue helmet.' 'Oh, that means you're the blue ranger, and Gina and EJ, that means you're the yellow and black ranger, right?' 'Right.' 'Yeah'

There was a silence for a few minutes as the five teens took it all in, soaking up the new information they had just learnt. 'What do we do, exactly?' Ricky spoke up.

'Oh, a lot..that reminds me, did you guys experience something weird? Where were you all when you found it?' Kim asked out of curiousity, leaning forward, in interest. Something clicked in Nini's brain. She narrated how none of the four could open the door, but Aaron could.

'Oh, that's simple. All five of you had to be there, to open the door. You couldn't open it, because the blue ranger wasn't there yet.' She explained simply. 'Oh' they all exclaimed in realization.

'Hey what about like flashbacks?' Ricky suddenly suggested, which immediately caught everyone's attention. 'Well, it depends.. mostly its because, you have been tested for like mental strength.' 'I had like two flashbacks, and one of them was particularly not that good.' Nini chimed in to support the curly haired boy, to which everyone replied 'Yeah' 'Me too'

Kimberly nodded her head. 'As I said, you were tested for mental strength, and looks like you all passed.' 'So, when do you start training?' Kim asked, as if it was obvious.

'What do you mean training?' Gina questioned, with slightly wide eyes.

'Your powers can show up anytime soon. You'll need to learn how to control and harness your power and most importantly _morph_.' 

'What's morphing?' 'Accessing your suits.' she said, simply, again. 'Cool, so we get suits? Now we're talking.' EJ said with a soft laugh, which earned a laugh from everyone else. 'But who will train us?' Nini inquired. 'I could. I have some solid training. I've been training from the past six years. Wouldn't hurt to pass it on.' Kimberly offered. 'Okay, so when do we start?' 'We need a HQ, though' 'I think I know of a place.' Aaron said, leaning back against the couch and relaxing into it. 'Okay. Training starts at 4 after school tomorrow. But, are you sure you are all up to this? Cause once you agree, you can't back down.'

'Sure, why not?' 


	7. Suits like that?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The five teens are introduced to the concepts of being a Power ranger and morphing, and an old friend lends a hand.

_**'** _ **_There's just no one that gets me like you do_ **   
**_You are my only, my only one'_ **

  
+  
' **YOU SAID** 3 of five of the rangers went missing.. Doesn't that mean there's someone else left?' Aaron asked Kim, his fingers stroking his chin thoughtfully.

Kim looked at him blankly for a moment, when gears turned in her head. 'Yeah, he's.. wait a minute.. I have an idea!' Kim gibbed enthusiastically and sitting up straight. She brought her lips to the rim of the soda can, taking a sip as she pondered over her idea. The others sipped on the soda she had offered, exchanging glances to see if anyone had any clue as to what she was thinking about.

The five looked at her in curiosity. 'What idea?' Gina asked, setting her now empty can down, to which she replied vaguely. 'You'll see tomorrow.' This didnt bring much content to the curious minds, but eased it for a little, knowing that they would hopefully know by tomorrow.

Gina remembered the book and envelope she had brought with her, and carefully took it out of her backpack. She looked at Nini, and Nini subtly nodded at her, and handed both the mysterious relics to Kim who examined it in silence for a few minutes. 'What do you think it is?' EJ inquired, breaking the silence enveloping the room.

She looked up from examining the book, and shut it with one hand. 'I'm glad you found this. This can really help train you all better.' 'What is it, exactly?' Ricky asked her, keeping his empty soda can down. 'You found the Ranger Code. It's like a rule book and guide on everything you need to know on being a ranger. ' 'What about the envelope?' Nini inquired. 'That's umm.. ' she trailed off, not wanting to complete the sentence.

This only added more questions to the five teens list of unanswered questions to date. 

\+   
Aaron and Kim trudged through the trail leading to the cabin, sunlight filtering through the leaves. She had brought a lot of things with her for training. Aaron helped her carry the sand punching bags and a few wooden crates. A few minutes later, the cabin came into view. It was a beautiful wooden cabin with two floors, that sat atop this forest covered hill and was surrounded by trees. Aaron swore he heard the sound of water gushing somewhere nearby.

She stopped and stared at the cabin in awe, while Aaron walked ahead and waited for her a few feet away from the cabin, the stack of crates clutched tight to his chest. He turned to her, wincing a little due to the weight of all the heavy sandbags he was carrying.

'I never imagined that it would look like this.' she said, after catching up with him. He kept the four bags down and opened the door. They spent about half an hour exploring the cabin, stumbled upon a jammed door, and Kim kicked the door down. It was an empty room except for a bed, with book shelves and a small side table. _Livable_ , both of them thought to themselves, as they got to work to make this place more.. comfortable.

Both of them were cleaning and setting up the cabin, when EJ popped in and lent them an extra hand in all the heavy lifting.

_Boy, were they glad for the extra hand._

Their idea was to make the cabin livable, so that they could train and if it got too late, they could stay in the cabin. It was nearly 9. Kim dusted her hands wearily and plopped down, on the couch, with a tired and exhausted sigh, and closed her eyes. EJ and Aaron came in after hanging up the punching bags on the nearby tree branches. They all looked around, satisfied with their hard work.

'Man, I'm hungry. I could use some food.' EJ commented, as they walked in. Aaron nodded, and looked at him. 'Me too. Does tacos sound good to you?' A smile appeared on EJ's face. 'Good, cause I'm buying.' Aaron said, and they left the cabin, closing the door behind them. 

  
+

_The next day_ _._  
Ricky woke up, in the guest bedroom next to Nini's room, with a weird feeling in his body. He felt this weird surge of energy, it was rushing through his veins. He could feel his veins pulsing from the pressure, and his head throbbed, as if it had been hit with a hammer. He pushed the blanket away, and walked to the bathroom in his grey sweatpants, unsure of what was happening to him, his mind a little fuzzy, as he massaged his temples with his fingers.

Meanwhile, Nini was splashing water to her face aggressively, her head bent down to the sink, trying to get rid of the splitting headache. Her whole body felt like it was on fire, and she tried to concentrate on the shiny silver drain in the sink, her vision becoming really dull. She opened the medicine cabinet next to the sink, after wiping her face dry with one of the towels she found nearby, and fumbled for a bottle of aspirin and finally found it in the back. She let out a sigh and popped one in her mouth, not bothering to drink some water. She regretted doing that, for the aspirin left a bitter taste in her mouth. 

Ricky sighed as he stepped into the shower, the hot water bouncing off his skin, easing his aching muscles. Nini took a quick shower in her bathroom, her mind running at atleast four hundred miles an hour with thoughts, and put on the first outfit she could put together, and headed to the kitchen to make some cereal for herself, tying her hair up into a high pony on the way. She bumped into him, around the corner of the corridor that led into the kitchen, and she let out a soft gasp, her hands went to his chest instinctively. He had one hand on a towel, drying his golden brown curls. Luckily, he had chosen to wear a pair of basketball shorts and not a towel, and thanked his stars he did. Ricky looked down at her mesmerizing soft brown eyes, butterflies filling his stomach, while she stared at him, a blush rising to her cheeks, unable to talk. They stood like that for a few seconds. She cleared her throat awkwardly, and broke eye contact and walked away.

_I_ _should walk around shirtless more often, he_ laughed under his breath, walked back to his room and shrugged on a white hoodie and dried his hair and went to the kitchen.

Nini was sitting on a barstool near the counter, eating cereal, when she saw him enter the kitchen. 'I can make some mean scrambled eggs. Do you want some, Neens?' She thought about it for a second and then replied, bringing the spoon close to her mouth, 'Sure, let's see how good your skills are, Bowe- Ricky.' He chuckled a little, before turning to the stove. He brought out a bowl and looked in the fridge for eggs, took it out and began to crack them, when he felt a pair of eyes on him. He turned to see her looking at him, and smiled at her, but she looked away immediately, embarassed she had been caught staring, her ears turning red. Nini probably zoned out, as she began stirring her empty cereal bowl mindlessly.

Ricky shook his head at her mindless antics, and continued to break and later whisk the eggs. A few minutes later, he switched it off and transferred the contents from the pan to two plates after adding some salt and pepper, and kept one plate in front of her. She took it, scrutinized the eggs with her fork, as if searching for something. 'Richard Bowen, I swear if there's poison in this..' 'Haha, sure. I added a lot, just so you can notice. Go ahead, Nina, take a bite.' He joked, and took a bite first. She rolled her eyes jokingly and stared at the scrambled eggs for a few seconds before shrugging and putting it in her mouth. He devoured his down, and looked at her. She chewed it thoughtfully and ate a few more bites, 'Not bad, Ricky. Hmm, the scrambled eggs turned out better than I expected.' 'You're still alive, I see. What a pity. Guess I'm a better chef after all.' He teased, with a smirk. 'You take that back, Richard. You haven't even tried my brownies yet.' He winked at her. 'Can't wait.' 'Is that a challenge to a bakeoff? Ricky, you are so lucky we have to go to school now. Otherwise, I would have beaten your ass, fair and square with my brownies. Now get up, We're gonna be late.' She said, in a mock stern tone, trying to seem serious, but her lips were curled into a smile. 

Nini got up, and put away the utensils, and headed to the living room. He grabbed his backpack and car (truck?) keys. She grabbed hers and headed out to his truck, locking the door behind them. They drove to school, as Nini played too many Taylor Swift songs with the aux cable and sang to herself, and god damn that was definitely one of his top ten favourite moments with Nini. Her voice held so much power and substance, yet sometimes it felt so soft and fragile as if it were to shatter her heart if she sang a note higher. Angelic. And don't even get him started on the loveliest of the facial expressions she made as she sang. 

One word. _Whipped_.

+  
'Uh guys, there's something I need to tell you.' Aaron said. 'What is it, Aaron?' Ricky and Nini said in unison.

_Jeez, Again? What are we, telepathic now?_

'Kim and I went to the cabin yesterday after you all left. EJ joined us later on..' Aaron said, looking around his friends faces. 'We kinda changed some things.' EJ added, rolling up his sleeves. 'So.. that's good?' Gina asked, her eyes on EJ. 'Yeah, yeah. Just wait and see.' he replied, and stared ahead, focusing on his walking.

Gina trailed behind the four. Today was definitely a weird day. She got up with a lot of body ache and a major headache, and that was definitely unusual, because she never fell sick her whole life. The pain she was experiencing all over her body, especially her muscles, had subsidized to an extent, but it still hurt when she stretched.

EJ and Aaron walked ahead, pointing fingers in the direction of the cabin, discussing something among themselves. Ricky and Nini walked in silence, their shoulders brushing past often, and occasionally stealing glances at each other, cheeks rosy. 

_These two are so oblivious!_ Gina thought, to herself and let out a small chuckle.

+

All of them went in and stood wordlessly in a semi circle, staring at the now well lit and equipped cabin. They roamed around, touching all the new objects and overall admiring the interiors of the cabin.

'Hey, if you all don't mind, I'm gonna move here.' Ricky joked. 'I'll join you.' EJ added. Nini punched his arm lightly and fake pouted, 'And leave me all alone in that big ol' house?' 'I never would. You know that Neens.' he said, laughing, and looking at her in adoration. EJ, Aaron and Gina shook their heads in mock annoyance, and exchanged glances.

_Simp._

Kimberly led them outside where they had hung up a few punching bags, the leather book in her hand. 'So, I've been reading the book you brought yesterday. It's quite a lot of information, but we'll get through it. So first off..' she looked down at her watch, and then looked around her, her eyes searching for someone. A tall figure, clad in black and leather approached them, and stood next to her. She smiled at him warmly, and embraced him. He hugged her back, glad to see that his former teammate was doing okay, considering the fact that she had lost.. him, Zack had remained by her side ever since, and looked after her in a way an older brother would, and even though she wouldn't accept it, she was glad that she had someone to lean onto every now and then. 'This is Zack, former Black anger and he's gonna help in training the team.' He shook hands with the boys in an informal way and smiled at everyone. They could tell that he would be a fun addition to their training sessions, since he had this unmissable, mischievous twinkle in his eye.

 ** _Ludi_** ** _Lin_** as _Zack Taylor_ , the Black Ranger.

+

'Okay first off, we show you how we morph.' Kim said and looked at Zach who gave her a subtle nod. He took a small golden coin out of his pocket and held it in his hand and closed his fist. Kim did the same with her golden coin. They both closed their eyes, concentrating, as Zach whispered ' _It's morphin' time.'_

A pink suit grew and crystallized on Kimberly while a black one crystallized on Zach. It covered their whole body, and a helmet now covered their head. Gloves appeared on their hands and strong metal boots _(with wedges for her) ,_ covered their feet. The teens looked at the two ex rangers in awe, as she pressed a square near her neck and the helmet collapsed into the suit, and Zach mirrored her. Her face was now visible, and so was his.

The teens stood with their mouths wide open. 'Wait, so you're telling me that we -' Nini said, pointing to the five of them, 'get suits like that?' fingers in the air, circling their suits.

'Yes. You do. But only if you're ready.' 'Wait a minute. What do you mean _if_?' Ricky said, scrunching his eyebrows slightly, stepping forward, arms crossed. 'You'll have to train.. only then, when you harness your powers correctly, you'll _know_ you're ready.' she replied, coolly. 'We don't know what your powers are yet, we just have a hunch. So we'll be testing all of you, and that way.. maybe we can identify your powers?' Zach said, looking at all of them, and they nodded in agreement.

_'Good, now let's get started.'_

»

_Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter! Spam the comments!_

  
_Don't forget to give a kudos and follow me if you didn't already! Feel free to re read the previous chapters, even if its just for fun! :)_   
_See you all on the next one!_   
_As always all my love,_   
_~MJ♡._


	8. Have you seen a shooting star?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ricky and Nini bond with the other team mates and amongst themselves, as they spend a night out in the woods by themselves.

**_'_ ** **_I wonder what's its like to be my friends.'_ **

  
+  
 **'HOW ABOUT** we get to know each other better? Tell us one thing the others don't know.' The group shrugged. 'Okay.' 'Umm, Zack Taylor. I don't do much. I used to live with my mum, but she passed away two years ago after I became a Power Ranger. I found a family in our gang, and we were really close.' he said, shifting in his place at the thought of everything that happened, his hands staying buried in his pocket. He decided to add a little more. 'Trini, my girlfriend, went missing, along with Billy, and Jason.' Kim's face stiffened when she heard his name. It just brought back waves of sadness, the memory of the day he disappeared.. the expression on his face as he disintegrated still fresh in her mind. She chewed on her lower lip, which Zack knew stood for her having waves of nostalgia. Not good ones, mind you. 

'Okay, moving on..' she interjected, and looked around their faces, hoping that someone else would speak up. 'Uh, I'm Ricky, I uh, was the quarterback for the school football team. I play the guitar.' Kim and Zack nodded, waiting for someone else to keep with the uneven flow. Nini stared at Ricky in surprise, unaware that others were looking.

'I'm Aaron, and I love science.' he said, stepping forward when he spoke. Dumb _Aaron, is that really the best you could think of?_ he scolded himself.

'Nini. My life is a mess. I mean, I used to be the captain of the cheerleading team, and now.. honestly, I don't know.-' Nini earnestly said, not knowing the right words to put together to describe her life. Maybe a bucket load of red on her ledger would work. Heck a truck load, for all the crappy things she had done, to her juniors, some of the new kids she bullied, God just thinking about all of that brought back the headache she had been having all day. 

_But who was she, Natasha Romanoff?_

'Okay, anyway, EJ?' Zack asked, looking at EJ. 'I spend my time walking around the forests and exploring old railway stations.' Gina opened her mouth to talk when someone said 'You know what? Let's just train, this is getting awkward.' The five nodded their heads in agreement.

+  
The five stood in a stance, in front of five sand punching bags that hung on tree branches.

  
Kim and Zack stood nearby, looking into the leather covered book. 'So this says that one of the powers could be super strength.' he said, reading from the book. 'Let's test it out.. Go ahead and punch it..' she added, looking at all of them. EJ went first, and the bag swung back and forth from the tree branch, from the impact of his punch. He had a pleased look on his face.

Gina took a step back with her left foot and came forward and punched it. She nodded to herself as the bag moved back and forth, more than EJ's. Aaron punched his, but it didn't really go that far.

Nini's punch surprised the gang, as the sand bag tore slightly for the force and sand slowly spilled out. Ricky's lips parted in shock. She chuckled and shook her head, she was used to punching things, her wall, her abusive and toxic exes, just b***hy people in general. _Practice made her.. good?_

Nini stepped back and stood next to him. 'You're up.' He nodded and moved forward, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. He punched the bag as hard as he could, waited for a few seconds and opened his eyes. Ricky saw everyone's mouth open in shock, all of them staring at him and or the bag. The bag was totally torn, the sand spilt on the grass slowly. Heck, the whole bag was now hanging on a loose thread. 'Okay, I guess we know now.' Kim broke the silence.

+  
 _That night._  
'Hey guys? I think I'm gonna camp out here for the night. Want to keep me company?' EJ announced to his friends, walking down the slope trail cautiously, the others right behind him. 'I'm down' Gina said, which the others echoed, since none of them had any plans in mind for the evening anyway. They found a nice spot, and gathered the dry wood they needed and pushed some old logs closer to the site and within a few minutes, they had a campfire roaring, the light illuminating everyone's face in the vast darkness of the now night. 

The night brought such a silence amongst the teens, who were lost in thought, wondering how the heck the universe had changed their plans in less than fourty eight hours. They were and had been regular kids, with their own sob stories to tell, but now, everything had changed. They were now chosen, to receive superpowers to protect the Earth, against all the unknown threats they had to face. And that is why, only the crackle of the campfire was all that could be heard. The red sparks from the fire danced in the cool breeze.

Ricky sat really close to Nini on a log, his face toasted warm and his back cold. Their knees were touching, and he had one arm around her, and she did not seem to be complaining, so he took it as a sign to bring her a little closer, and her head now rested on his shoulder, with a happy sigh.

_That's what friends do, right?_

He felt a chilly breeze passing through, and immediately took off his hoodie and placed it on Nini's shoulders, who gave him a small grateful smile, and a few minutes later, put in on, not wanting to die from frostbite. Gina and EJ shared a log together laughing and caught up in toasting some marshmallows for smores which Gina for some reason, had.

Aaron scanned the pages of the Ranger code, in the dim light of the camp fire. EJ passed two sticks and some marshmallows to Nini, who gave one to Ricky, as she held out the stick. Both of them couldn't stop stealing occasional glances at each other, as they roasted some smores, and Ricky couldn't stop admiring how pretty she looked, as the light highlighted all her beautiful features.

_Hmm, something's up with Ricky.. He's nicer than usual but it's cute, really. He let me rest my head on his shoulder without a teasing remark.. No, Nini he's your close friend. That's all. Besides, what if he's like.. He who shall not be named?_

_But what if he's not?_ Another voice in her head argued. 

Aaron joined the other four in roasting too, and they all enjoyed the smores, talking and laughing at Ricky and Aaron's cheesy jokes.

+

Soon, the flames flickered and eventually died, somehwere around midnight. EJ had already yawned one too many times. Gina headed back to the cabin with him and Aaron, who stated that he needed his sleep.

Nini and Ricky were sitting on the grass, legs criscrossed, and quite comfortably in the dark. She stared at the sky, mapping constellations in her head and with her finger, looking for a particular something in the sky.

He lay down on the grass exhausted by the day's events, his hands going behind his head. She turned to talk to him, and saw him lying down, so she joined him, and he smiled. They lay like that for sometime, as Ricky hummed a sad tune to himself. They didnt mind the almost silence in between them one bit. He saw out of the corner of his eye that she was deep in thought, her eyes fixed on the sky. He nudged her with his elbow.

'Whatcha thinking about?' He asked her with a goofy smile, which made her heart flutter a little. 'Sometimes I wonder..' she trailed off, not knowing how to finish her sentence.

'Have you seen a shooting star?' She asked, her head turning to him. 'I haven't, really. Why?' 'Cause, if you see a shooting star, you can wish for something.. you know.' 'You believe in all that?' he asked, turning to his side to face her. She turned to, and now they were facing each other. 'Of course..Who wouldn't?' She asked, as if it was obvious. Ricky pursed his lips for a second. 'Me..?' 'Why?' She questioned, in a soft tone, not meaning to come off as nosey in any way. 

'Because Nini, somethings can't really be fixed, even with wishes.' He replied, vaguely, looking away. 'Like what?' She further asked. 'Just.. never mind.' He said, his voice cracking the tiniest bit.

_His parents they called him a disappointment, a mistake, yelling at him and at each other. His mother had beat him black and blue at his misbehaviour. They argued and argued, sometimes Ricky just wanted it all to stop._

'Hey, hey, Ricky, are you okay?' she asked, her hand on his shoulder, genuine worry in her voice. He fights back tears he didn't know he had, and wipes his glossy eyes. 'Yeah, yeah..' He bluffed, and she decided not to pursue the topic any more. They sat in some more silence, her hand dropping down to the side, and finding his to give him a gentle, reassuring squeeze. Her small, warm hand's presence around his bigger and rough, calloused ones are missed, when she slowly pulls her hand away. 

Nini turned, and now was sleeping on her back, when she saw a streak moving across the sky and she pointed at it, a huge excited grin on her face. 'Look, Ricky it's a shooting star..' 'Oh..yeah' Ricky said in a neutral voice.

_What a coincidence._

_I wish that I have a strong support system, or at least one person who gets me and is there for me. That one person who loves me unconditionally,_ he wished in his head sadly, even though he knew, very well, that all his wishes never came true.

 _I wish for a true friend, and a rare soul, who I can trust and love unconditionally. Somebody I can call mine,_ Nini said in her head, closing her eyes. When she opened them, she sighed, seeing that the shooting star was long gone.

+

It was way past midnight, Nini assumed that Ricky had fallen asleep on the grass since he didn't move or talk, using his arm as a pillow. Nini didn't want to leave him all alone, plus she didn't want to walk back to the cabin in the woods at midnight, by herself. Thus, she decided to spend the night, on the soft grass next to the curly haired quarterback she secretly harbored undecided feelings for. 

Just as the first bite of cold wind crept under his thin shirt (she was wearing his hoodie), Nini's hand had moved around his middle, warm and soft. In seconds her body is moulded into his, sharing her body heat. She lay her head on his chest, and she could hear his steady heartbeat, and soon, she let the exhaustion take over her, her eyes fluttering to a close, unaware that he was still very much awake, or that he harbored feelings towards her too. 

+  
 _The next morning_  
Birds chirped in a distance, as Gina drew the curtains of the room she was sleeping in, stretching out her arms and yawning.

 _I wonder how EJ's asleep on that bed, while this sunlight hits his face directly_..

Gina decided to go on her usual morning walk and freshened up a bit, tied her shoelaces together and took a sip of water and headed out of the cabin. She looked around smiling a little, breathing in the fresh air.

Gina was now recognising the part of the forest she was walking in, as she had walked through the same path the night before, leading to the campsite. She hadn't seen Ricky or Nini and wondered if they were still there. 

Gina reached the spot and immediately spotted the duo cuddling, but fast asleep. Nini's head rested on his chest, under his chin, her arms loosely wrapped around him. Ricky's head was rested on hers, and his arms too had wrapped around her, as if holding onto her, and their legs were entangled. They both had small smiles on their faces as they slept. Gina didn't want to A) seem creepy or B) wake them up and walked away in the opposite direction, back to the cabin, imagining their reactions when they wake up, in each other's arms.

+  
Nini reached for the door handle, and opened it, yawning, her hair now put into a messy bun, Ricky behind her, rubbing his eyes tiredly, his curls out of place. She was still in her yesterday's outfit, namely a full sleeved flannel shirt and some loose fitting denim three fourths, and Ricky's hoodie.

They entered the cabin, to be greeted by the smell of hot coffee and the other three rangers. Nini went to the kitchen to make herself something to drink, Ricky settled down with EJ and Aaron on the couch, when she saw Gina stirring a mug. Gina smiled knowingly at her, handing her a mug. She took it, smiling back and held the mug in two hands, smelling the coffee and sipped it, with a blissful sigh of happiness.

'So, what happened yesterday, after we left?' The tall girl asked with a smirk, not beating around the bush. 'Nothing.. really, we talked for some time, he fell asleep, I fell asleep, got up today and here we are.' she said, not knowing the reason behind Gina's smirk.

'Are you sure about that?' 'Yeah, why are you smiling like that?' Nini asked, furrowing her eyebrows slightly, confused. 'So, we are not gonna talk about the fact that you two were literally asleep in each other's arms?' 'What?' Nini asked, her mouth wide open. 'Uh, nothing. Enjoy your coffee..' she replied and walked away, leaving a very confused Nini standing in the kitchen.

_Wha-_

»  
 _Spam the comments and don't forget to give a kudos!_  
 _See you on the next one!_  
 _As always, all my love,_  
 _~MJ♡_


	9. Where were you, babe?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ricky and Nini, two extremely normal teens (understatement of the year) experience your typical high school party, and its aftermath.

**I'll stay outta your way and won't let you know that,** _**I need your love tonight'** _

+  
 **KIM** **SOBBED** into her hands, Zack comforting her on the couch in the cabin. The letter lay unread on the table. He picked it up, and gave it to her. 'I think you should read it Kim.. He would've wanted you to.' She looked at him, and took it and carefully opened the envelope. Kim took out the neatly folded paper and unfolded it.

She read it out loud, as Zack rested his head in his hand.

_Kim_ ,  
 _I know how hard it is for you, ever since we knew that this would happen. I know how much you're hurting on the inside. Don't do it Kim, stay strong. I wish I could be there with you, and our friends.. the weekend campfires.. I would do anything to have just another moment with you. Take care of Zack, you know how much he can ruin himself if he's hurt on the inside.._

_I want you to guide the next team Kim, you are the most capable, determined and talented person I know and love. Lead them, Kim. Make sure Alex's death wasn't in vain._ _Stay strong. I love you, now and forever._  
 _Yours,_  
 _Jase_ _._

She kept the paper down, biting her lower lip in an attempt to stop crying. He rubbed her shoulders comfortingly. 'It's okay' A few minutes of silence later, Zack spoke up. 'Who's Alex?' Kim thought for a minute. 'Me and Jase stumbled upon this register of all the Power Rangers teams and their names. Alex Whitley and Cassie James. The fifth team of Power Rangers. Alex was the Red, And Cassie the Pink. They were in love- boyfriend and girlfriend. They fought together against Lord Zedd valiantly. Alex disappeared after battle. Just like Jase... wait a minute..' She said, pausing, and releasing something. 'Every time, a Ranger went missing after battle.' 'Doesn't that mean this time..' 'Oh no' they both said, in unison, sadly.

+  
Ricky was strumming some tunes on his guitar, when Nini walked in, wearing well- something you would wear to a party. She looked stunning, effortlessly. The black crop top, and the white jacket, the ripped jeans made her look different.. a _good_ different.

'Ricky, I'm going to a party and won't be back till tomorrow morning. Will you be okay alone for the night or do you wanna tag along?' She asked, leaning her back on the doorway. 'Yeah.. I guess I'll tag along, but whose party?' 'Lance.' 'Lemmings?' 'Yep. That's the guy.' 'Cool, I know him. Let's go.' 'Nuh uh. Not with you looking like that.' she said, shaking her head, and wiggling her finger in the air. 'What's wrong with a pair of white sweatpants?' he asked jokingly, lifting his hands in the air, pointing to his pants.

'You've gotta be kidding me.' Nini let out a loud sigh, before she came in, and went straight to his closet. 'May I?' 'Sure, let's see you work your magic.' Ricky replied, using her own dialogue. She tossed and held out clothes in the air, mock angrily mumbling comments to herself. 'Yuck.' 'Nope.' 'Too plain.' 'Ew.' 'Ricky, do you even have anything in here that doesn't scream I'm a skaterboy?'

_She's cute when she's pissed,_ his voice echoed in her head. She could feel her cheeks burning up, and bent her head down smiling slightly, and continued looking.

'Ah ha.' She exclaimed proudly, after emptying out three fourths of his cupboard onto the floor and the bed, and held out a dark flannel shirt and a white shirt, with some dark jeans. 'Here' Nini said, with a satisfied smile and dumped the clothes she picked out on him.

Ricky gave her a lop sided grin, took the clothes and went to the bathroom and got changed. Nini sat on the bed, looking around quietly. She hadn't been to his room after he moved in. He had kept various trophies on a corner of a table, and his letterman jacket hung on the handle of his closet. The room wasn't decorated much, but it wasn't exactly messy as she expected it to be. The guitar rested against the corner of the wall, next to six different skateboards.

Ricky came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, running his fingers through his hair, in an attempt to look good. 'How about now?'

Nini felt like her breath was taken away. The white shirt fit him just right, and the flannel jacket made him look.. _perfect_. He had sprayed on a little of his cologne, Throb too, and Nini's heart was racing and fluttering out of control.

'Better.' was all she could say, with a smile. He grabbed his car keys and adjusted his hair in front of a mirror before they headed out. Ricky decided mutually, on being their designated driver, and Nini was to be their designated drinker. She didn't mind, knowing that there would never be something too heavy in those parties.

+  
They pulled up to the driveway of Lance's house. Ricky got out and opened the door for her, and she smiled playfully at him, rolling her eyes. 'Chivalry isn't dead. Not as long as I'm here.' He stated with a puffed up chest and a proud grin. She shook her head and whacked his arm lightly before heading into the house.

The first thing both of them noticed was the smell, the strong odour of sweaty teens, and beer, cheap beer. A lot of people danced aimlessly to the loud pop/rap song blaring from the speakers nearby, that Nini subconciously knew the lyrics to, as others roamed around happily, with half filled red solo cups in their hands. Nini's mind was being overwhelmed with too many thoughts and voices and she wanted to find a small quiet corner. She put on a fake smile as she was greeted by many people, when she passed by them as Ricky and Nini made their way to the kitchen.

Brandon saw Ricky and Nini enter and his blood boiled.

_She had the guts to come here, with that Raymond guy? How dare she?_

A plan formed in his mind. He opened a can of root beer and mixed a lot of alcohol in it and closed it, shaking the can vigourously. He handed it to a random boy walking around. 'See that girl over there? Give this to her. Don't tell that I gave it, though.' The boy, half dizzy, went over to Nini and gave it to her, mumbling something. She took it, looking at Ricky quizically, he just shrugged. She didn't give it much thought and took a sip.

_Wow, that's weird. Root beer hasn't tasted this good in a long time. Anyway, the thoughts are going away_ , _this kinda works._

Ricky stuck to soda, just reminding himself that he would be driving them both back home. He was deep in conversation with Aaron, who sipped on his soda, one hand buried in his pocket. He turned around to talk to Nini, but realized she wasn't there. 'I'll be right back.' he said, and walked around looking for her. He was stopped by a tall blonde girl, who kept a hand on his chest.

'Woah there.. hottie.. where are you going?' she said, obviously drunk. 'I'm looking for someone, excuse me.' he said, trying to walk away. She grabbed his collar. 'I'm here. I like you. Stay.' she said, looking up and leaning in to kiss him. He held up a hand to her mouth, disgusted. She had a strong grip and he was doing everything possible not to kiss her.

Out of the corner of her eye, a slightly tipsy Nini saw Ricky and a blonde. The corners of her lips turned down, as she glared daggers at them. 'Excuse me.' she said to the boy she was talking to and headed over to Ricky.  
Nini came up from behind, and coiled her arm around his.

The blonde girl noticed immediately and made a dirty frown. 'Where were you, babe? I was looking for you..' she bluffed sweetly, looking at Ricky, who had a confused expression, but played along. 'Yeah.. I was just about to look for you.. come on let's go babe.' he said smiling, and the blonde girl let go of his shirt.

Ricky made an impulsive decision; he gave Nini a peck on the lips before they walked away, as the blonde girl scoffed in disgust. Nini's cheeks reddened, and her breath had hitched as he kissed her lightly for less than two seconds. Once they were out of the blonde girl's sight, Nini spoke up. 'What was that for?' ' Hey, You told me to play along..' 'Okay but you didn't have to-' 'But I wanted to' he said too quickly, then realized what he had told. _Crap_.

+  
It was midnight. The party had quietened down a little. Nini and Ricky were sitting on barstools in the kitchen, talking as Nini kept drinking, trying to numb her thoughts. Ricky tried many times to make her stop, but she was too drunk to care (to listen to him).  
He got up to get her a glass of water, and came back to a Nini drinking out of a bottle. He shook his head, and took away the bottle from her forcefully, saying 'Neens, don't. You'll thank me later. ' Ricky decided that it was too late, and they had to get back home. So he made her stand up, and they walked back to the car, Nini muttering her random thoughts out loud and giggling. He made her sit down and helped her put her seatbelt on as she giggled like a little girl. 'Ricky, is cotton candy made of clouds?' 

On their drive back home, she told him about the most silliest things and giggled and hiccupped. He smiled to himself as he drove. She was always so - serious around him, rarely letting her walls down with anyone, except him on a few occasions. This giggly and happy version Nini warmed his heart. He was thinking about something when he heard her tell something that caught his attention.

'I like you, Bowen. *giggle* but I'm scared.. what if you're like *hiccup* him?' *giggle* 'Wait what?' he asked, his eyes slightly widened, unable to believe what she just said. 'I like you Rickyy.. you're really cute and nice to me *giggle giggle*.' she said, looking at him.

_No Ricky, she's drunk. Don't get your hopes up, o_ ne part of him thought, while the other thought ' _Drunk words are sober thoughts. Maybe she likes me.'_

A smile grew on his face as he recounted the times she blushed in front of him.

+  
They parked in front of their house and Ricky got out. Nini was in no state to walk. She got up and tried to walk out but stumbled and fell face down on the grass, and lay there happily, as Ricky rushed to the other side of the car to catch her. He shook his head sadly and lifted her up, bridal style and took her inside, and gently placed her down on the bed, and went down to get her an aspirin for when she wakes up.

Ricky got changed into a red hoodie and his usual sweatpants, and grabbed a t-shirt and an old but clean pair of basketball shorts, he had, for her. She was sitting on the bed, talking to herself merrily, her words slurred. He helped a very confused Nini get changed into the pair of shorts and his old t-shirt which read Skaters Union 1904; which reached her knees. Nini walked around her room, giggling and pointing at the t-shirt while he made her bed for her.

He managed to tuck her into bed, and left the aspirin and a glass of water for her on her nightstand. He walked towards the light switch and left a small lamp on, and was leaving the room, to go to sleep in his room, when she called him. He turned around, to see her sitting up and looking at him. 'Rickyy don't go.. The dark is scary..' He chuckled and switched on another small light. 'Ricky!' she said, pouting and making a grabby motion with her hands, like a little baby. Ricky chuckled again, knowing she wont sleep unless he was sleeping next to her and slid into bed, pulling the blanket around himself too. Nini wrapped her arms around him, as her head buried into his chest. 'Better?' he asked, with yet another chuckle. 'Mhmm.' she hummed, content and sighed happily, her eyelids slowly fluttering to a close. He hugged her close, and he too fell asleep, the happy smile on his face never going away.

+

_See you on the next one,_  
 _Love,_  
 _~MJ_ ♡


	10. You're up.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ricky witnesses Nini being a literal queen with her jerk of an ex. Nini slowly begins to feel and understand her superpowers. The others compete in a race to see if they can figure out theirs.

**_'We're alike you and I_ **  
**_Two blue hearts locked in our wrong minds_ **  
**_So can we make the most out of no time?'_ **

  
+  
_A few days later_.  
**NINI HUMMED** a tune to herself as she picked out her books from her locker, in a peculiarly good mood, waiting for a particular someone to walk with to class.

It's not what you think, though. They're really close friends, even if Nini secretly wished they were more. She closed the door of the locker and looked around the corridor, but couldn't find him.

 _How long does it take to find a book in your car?_ _Where is he?_

She waited for a few more minutes and then gave up and started walking to class, when she was pushed against the wall and cornered by none other than the world's first class jerk Brandon.

'Brandon..' she sassed, mocking a pleased expression. 'Nina.. I've been seeing you getting to cozy with that Raymond guy. If you know what's good for you, you'll stay away from him. Otherwise you're gonna get hurt.' he said, trying to make his voice extra deep. Nini's face relaxed into a smile, as raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, chuckling.

'First off, It's Ricky. And I thought you wanted to use me as a punching bag or something since you know.. I am one, according to you, Bran. Every girlfriend of yours is. However, I'm not yours to own any more, so let me go.' in a unaffected voice. He muttered cuss words angrily under his breath. 'It's Brandon for you, _Nina_. What my mom calls me is none of your business.' 'Aww, he's a mommy's little boy.' She mocked him, pouting like a little baby.

Brandon brought his hands down from the wall and glared at her angrily. 'Stay away from that Raymond guy. Otherwise..' 'Didn't you hear? I'm not your girl toy anymore, Bran. I'll do whatever the f**k I want.' she snapped back cooly, narrowing her eyes. 'You ruin yourself even more, Nina.' 'Good.' She spat back, not breaking eye contact with him, sending daggers his way. 'I don't know why I cared anyway.' He huffed angrily and walked away, as she shook her head, laughing and headed to class, sticking her middle finger up behind her, and Brandon saw it and growled to himself.

Ricky was just around the corner, looking for Nini, when he heard their conversation. A smile grew on his face as she snapped back. He adjusted the handle of his backpack and went to class. Upon entering, he walked to the back of the class, dumped his bag and sat down, already wishing that the class would end soon. 

+  
_Lunch_.  
Nini's mind was overwhelmed with thoughts. The most random thoughts, definitely not hers, but it flowed through her head, the words swarming her mind like angry bees. 

This was the most unusual thing she had ever seen. The gang didn't ask her questions when she didn't even eat a bite the whole time. They knew that sometimes other things take priority. Ricky kept looking at her, wanting to ask if everything was okay, and he did a little later, by nudging her foot with his. When he asked her, she just shrugged and mumbled something incoherent before going back to her fricking confusing thoughts.

As the cafeteria filled up, she could hear and feel more of these 'things.' or thoughts, as if they were being spoken out loud.

She was lost in her own world, trying to figure out what the heck was going on, and didnt notice that there was only ten minutes left for the second lunch to end.

Her vision became a little blurry as she looked around, confused. What she didn't know was that she was seeing things at a 10x more speed, though it seemed kinda normal to her, her eyes were getting adjusted to the new powers her body was receiving.

+  
It didn't go away.

_What the frick is going on?_

She turned her neck slightly and saw Ricky smiling to himself, walking next to her as he typed something into his phone. Nini wanted to test her new found weirdness and put all her focus into her thoughts as she looked at him. His voice echoed in her head;

' _She's gonna be so happy man, I can't wait_.' This was something she had learned. If she put all her focus in her thoughts, she could hear them. Speaking their mind, _quite literally._

+  
_The woods._  
Nini walked mechanically in a slower than usual pace, Ricky walking next to her in silence.

_Nini isn't herself today, at all._

He nudged her, for what seemed like the millionth time that day, with his elbow. 

'Hey you okay?' 'Hmm? Yeah.. yeah, I'm good.' 'Nini? Are you sure- We can go back-' 'I'm okay, really, just tired that's all.' 'Oh.' They walked to the cabin in a comfortable silence, leaving Nini to her thoughts, which were of course, silent now. _Great_.

'Okay, everyone, except for Ricky's strength, we haven't identified your powers yet. So, we came up with a plan of obstacles, to see if your powers kicked in. Let's get started.' Kimberly announced and everyone gathered around. Zack explained the course, which consisted of tests for speed, reflexes, strength and flexibilty. Zack then showed them the start line, near a huge tree.

They stood on one knee, their fingers touching the ground. Zack whistled, signaling the beginning of the race. Gina and Nini were cutting close, first, only to be over taken by the boys, who left the girls biting their dust. Gina sighed loudly as she came last in the race.

The next was designed to test their reflexes. Zack dropped old ceramic mugs from the top of a tree, and they had to try and catch as many as they could. EJ caught one, mostly dodging the falling mugs. Gina held three mugs and even caught a mug with her feet, which surprised everyone. Aaron was the one who shocked everyone. He caught every single mug before it even touched the ground, accurately. Ricky saw a mug falling in the direction of Nini and held out his hand above her head, and caught it, all in a second. They were inches apart. He sighed in relief, as she looked at him, confused. 'What?' He held out the mug in front of her and said, 'Saved you. In a second.' Her lips curled into a small smile. 'Thank you.' 'Anytime.' The small distance between them wasn't helping her butterflies in the stomach when she saw his goofy grin, nor the fluttering in his heart when she smiled gratefully at him.

Their little moment was interrupted by Zack yelling. 'Move on, no time to waste guys!'

EJ, Aaron and Gina were busy doing pushups on the soft grass. The duo joined them, Ricky completing hundred pushups effortlessly, as the others faltered slowly. Gina gave up after a 150, which was quite good for a person who never even tried. EJ joined her after sometime, completing 200, Aaron next with 210 and Nini surprisingly did up to 240 till she dropped to the ground, exhausted. Ricky didn't break a sweat, as he continued to complete 600, locking eyes with Nini who watched him intently.

'Okay, Ricky that's enough for today' Kim said, trying to sound polite. He got up and dusted his hands, with a smile. 'That felt good.' 'Lastly, flexibility. Let's go!

Everyone except Gina struggled to keep their knees straight, as they lifted one leg as high as they could. Gina stood still and poised like a god damn ballerina. (No offense to the ballerinas)

Kim noted everything, as Zack stood next to her, scrolling through his phone.

'Okay, so here's what we know so far. Ricky _definitely_ has super strength, Aaron has really _great_ reflexes, Gina has _some_ really good flexibility. EJ and Nini.. we don't know yet. Zack, anything you wanna add?' Nini felt a surge of thoughts as she looked at Kim, but these were images. Her vision became really blurry as her head almost hit the ground, because Aaron caught her.

_***Flashback*** _

  
_'No, Don't leave me_ _Jase_ _. You can't.' Nini felt herself saying through sobs, her arms being weighed down by a young blonde guy, with baby blue eyes. 'Kim, I love you. I always have. It's too late.' he said in a raspy voice, gently intertwining his fingers with hers._

 _Kim? She looked down, this wasn't her. Not Nini Salazar- Roberts, this was someone else. Who's_ _Jase_ _?_

' _Jason Lee Scott, you can't leave me. Not you too. I can't-' 'It's okay Kim, I promise. Here.' Jason said, reaching into his pocket and taking out an envelope and his coin. He kept it in her hand, and closed her fist. 'I love you with all my heart, but it's too late. I have no choice.' he said , bringing her hand closer to him, and kissed her hand gently. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she caressed his face. 'Promise me you'll never let go, Jase.' 'Promise, princess.' he said, jokingly. They closed the gap between them, a gentle and soft kiss, and let go for air. She slowly felt the weight of his body on her arms reducing as he disintegrated into the light, with the smallest of a smile on his face. Her head bent down, the tears now piercing her eyes, as she focused on the red coin in her hand._

»  
_'_ Nini? Nini?' she heard someone's voice.. it was faint but she could hear it, as she felt something cold splashed on her face. Her eyes fluttered open, slowly regaining consciousness to see Ricky's worried face, and everyone else, with a worried expression on their face. She felt his two strong arms wrapped around her, supporting her. Nini tried to sit up and with his help, she did.

'What happened?' 'I- I uh, don't know. One second I'm looking at everyone. The next I'm like on a empty battlefield.' EJ and Zack kneeled down. 'What empty battle field?' Gears turned in her head.

 _The envelope.. the one Kim._ _._ _oh_.

They looked at her expectantly for an answer. She opened her mouth to answer, but couldn't. 'Umm, Kimberly, can I talk to you in private for a sec?' Nini requested, looking at her with urgent eyes. 'Sure, come on.' she replied and helped her up. The others raised eyebrows in confusion, not knowing why Nini passed out, or why she wanted to talk.. to Kim. In private.

Nini walked to the edge of the clearing, and sat down on the ledge. Kim sat down, after kicking off the stones absentmindedly.

'What did you want to talk about?' 'I know.. about _Jason_ _Scott_.' was all Nini told. But that was enough for Kim's face to drop completely, and tears welled up in her eyes. Her heart began to sting as she reminisced the memories they had together.

'How'd you know?' 'I have been seeing and feeling things.. lately.' Nini trailed off, trying to explain with words. They sat in an awkward silence, and Nini broke it, a few minutes later.

'It must have hurt a lot. Letting him go.' 'Yeah- I- I- Its hard you know..' 'Hey hey, it's over, right Kim?' Nini said, in a soft voice, placing a hand on her shoulder. 'It still hurts.' 'I know.' Kim wiped away her tears roughly. 'Did you ever open the envelope?' Nini inquired. 'No, I didn't have the heart to-' 'You probably should go open it.' 'I probably should.'

»  
_What do we think of the book and the chapters so far? Spam away! Dont forget to follow me here as well!_

_See you on the next one!_  
_As always, all my love,_  
_~MJ♡_


	11. Uh, yeah, good morning.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nini and Ricky spend time together and EJ and Gina snoop around.

**_'Never been the type to ask for help, from somebody else_ ** **_.'_ **

+

**GINA AND EJ** had a great time in the cabin, having it all to themselves. Gina cooked a mean breakfast and they just messed around the house, till they stumbled upon Zack's room. Gina picked up an iPad looking tablet lying on the desk. It was unlocked. She held out the iPad in front of her, and EJ looked at it over her shoulder. It was a profile of some sorts.

**Name:** _Trini Isabella Kwan_

 **Age** : _22_

 **Gender** : _Female_ / _Straight._

 **Ranger** : _Yes_

 **Stone** : _Yellow_

 **Status** : _Missing, Presumed dead._

 **Last seen** : _Battle of Lord_ _Zedd_ _, along with Jason Scott, William (Billy) Cranston._

 **Linked to:** _Zack Taylor._

 _'_ That's uh weird.' Gina and EJ said, in unison. 'Look around.' EJ instructed, she nodded her head and clicked on a back arrow button.

**_The Sixth Generation of the Power Rangers:_ **

_Jason Lee Scott:_ Red, Alpha.  
 _Kimberly Ann Hart:_ Pink  
 _William John Cranston_ : Blue  
 _Trini_ _Isabella Kwan:_ Yellow  
 _Zachary Dean Taylor:_ Black.

EJ came closer and clicked on a link. Another profile popped up.

 **Name** : _Jason Lee Scott_

**Age** : _22_

**Gender** : _Male_ / _Straight._

**Ranger** : _Yes_

**Stone** : _Red, Alpha_

**Status** : _Missing, Presumed dead_

**Last seen** : _Battle of Lord_ _Zedd_ _, along with_ _Trini_ _Kwan, William (Billy) Cranston._

**Linked to:** _Kimberly Hart_

EJ took the iPad from her and sat down on the bed. She sat down next to him, as they scrolled through profiles, when they landed upon Kimberly Hart. 'Wait a second.. isn't that Kim?' Gina said, pointing at the photo of the profile they had opened. 'Uh.. I think that's her.' 'You know what, lets come back to that later..' EJ said, scrolling through when they reached this.

**_The Seventh Generation of the Power Rangers:_ **

_Richard Michael Bowen:_ Red, Alpha  
 _Nina Isabel Salazar- Roberts_ : Pink  
 _Aaron_ _Joshua_ _Hollington_ _:_ Blue  
 _Regina Sofia Porter_ : Yellow  
 _Ender Jeremiah Caswell_ : Black.

'Your full name is Ender Jeremiah Caswell?' Gina asked, trying to stifle her laughter. 'Shut up.' he said playfully. She burst into laughter a few seconds later, and he cracked a smile, looking at her. 'How does it know my name, though? Only my parents knew.' He asked, for which she shrugged.'Who knows, _Ender?'_ He rolled his eyes, and smirked at her, and she looked at him confused. EJ opened her profile and her eyes widened.

**Name** : _Regina Sofia Porter._

**Age** : _16_

**Gender:** _Female/ Bisexual_

**Ranger** : _Yes_

**Helmet** : _Yellow_

**Status** : _Active, Not linked._

**Linked to:** _N/_ _A._

'Oh, I didn't know..' EJ trailed off. 'No, um it's okay.. I didn't exactly tell anyone so.. yeah.' 'But what does linked to mean?' he asked changing the subject, not wanting to discuss any touchy subjects. 'I don't know.. like a partner for something?' she suggested, unsure. 'Yeah, maybe..' They wanted to learn more about it, but they heard a door close, and they hurriedly kept it back and rushed out of the room, and walked downstairs casually, as if they were down the whole time.

Zack was taking a bite out of an apple, as he leaned on the counter. He greeted them warmly, they relaxed on the couch, making general talk untill Gina decided to ask him 'Who is Trini? How did everyone go missing?' Zack looked at them in shock for a second, but took a deep breath and leaned forward to begin narrating their story. 'Well, um Trini and I .. '

+

The bright sunlight outside filtered through the blinds, streaming directly on her face. Nini's eyes fluttered open and all she saw was grey, A grey clothing of some kind. A pair of arms had wrapped around her frame, and hers had wrapped around his too.

_Please, let it be him, not that guy, please please,_ she thought to herself, closing her eyes, her head throbbing in pain, her mouth as dry as sandpaper.

She opened her eyes and looked up, and sighed in relief, when she saw the familiar golden brown messy curls. Ricky was snoring softly with a goofy grin on his face.

_What happened yesterday? I don't remember a thing.. Oh no, did we-? Please tell me we were not too drunk to haave actually done it.._

She looked down and saw that she was wearing an oversized shirt and a pair of basketball shorts. _Phew_.

Nini slowly withdrew her hands and tried to get up without waking him. Ricky's eyes fluttered open a few seconds later, and he shook his head smiling as he saw her trying to quietly get up. He withdrew his arms, and she looked at him, halfway to getting up, and she smiled too. 'Looks like you woke me up anyways.' He said in a cute raspy morning voice, which Nini absolutely adored. She didn't realize she was staring at him until he said 'Uh.. Good morning?' 'Uh, Good morning, I guess.. what happened yesterday night, Ricky? I don't remember a thing.' she asked sitting up and tying up her hair into a messy bun, while he sat up, and pushed the blanket away. 'Its a long story.' 'Tell me.'

'Okay.. so we went to the party, we stuck together, you disappeared after sometime, I went looking for you, some random chick tried to kiss me and-' 'Wait what?' 'You disappeared and-' 'Tell me you didn't kiss her, Ricky You should probably know three things at a party. One. Avoid the b****es, Two, don't kiss anyone. Three Stay away from the drunk jocks.' 'Of course I didn't. Ew Neens, I. have. standards. too.' He replied in disgust, punctuating every word. She sighed in relief, holding one hand to her chest jokingly.

'Okay, then.. what happened?' She prompted. 'You came in, and rescued me from her in a way, but you were mad at her for some reason?' 'Eh, I don't know.' Nini replied, taking the aspirin and the glass of water Ricky gave her. 'So, yeah, we talked for some more time, you drank A lot. A lot. I brought you home, and yeah you were giggling the whole time, but you fell asleep.' 'Oh..' she said looking sidewards, making her mouth form an O.

_Should I ask her about what she told me yesterday? Should I mention that I kissed her on the lips? Probably not.. let's leave before she asks anymore questions. I can't lie to that pretty face._

They sat/stood in an awkward silence when Ricky realized the time. 'Oh, I gotta go, I have a workout to do.' he said not exactly wanting to stay any longer, and walked out of the room. Nini got up, went to the bathroom, groaned and puked a few times, hating that her mouth felt so dry, took a refreshing shower, got changed, took a small nap and headed to the cabins for some training.

Since it was a bright and sunny Saturday morning, Nini decided to get in some exercise and practice before the others. She walked to the cabin in silence, and as she went closer, she heard voices.

_Good, the others are here I think._

Ricky was shirtless, _again_ , punching a sand bag hanging from branch aggressively, as Aaron sat on a log nearby, drinking a bottle of water. Gina and EJ were learning some defense techniques from Zack who looked very keen to teach them.

Kim sat in a corner, leaning against the cabin wall, staring at the letter. Nini headed over to her and sat down next to the short haired brunette.

'Did you read it?' she asked, looking at her. 'Yeah..' 'Do you want to talk about it? I'm here if you want to..' 'It's hard, you know, Two of my best friends completely vanishing off the face of the earth.. not to mention Jase..'

_I still love him, I do.._ Kim's voice echoed in Nini's head.

'Hey Kim?' 'Hmm?' 'I think I know what my power is. ' Kimberly gasped. 'Really?' 'Yeah.' 'What is it, then?' 'Thoughts. I can read or mostly hear them. Every single one.' 'Are you sure?' 'Yeah, pretty much.'

+  
'Okay gather around everyone! Today, We'll be testing Nini's powers. So I want you all to take turns and think of something, and we'll see if Nini gets it right' Kim announced loudly. They all gathered around. Nini stood in front of them.

'What number am I thinking of?' Zack asked. _3782_ his voice said, in her head. '3782.' she said, confidently, to which he raised one eyebrow. 'Okay, so what am I thinking of now?' Aaron asked, crossing his arms. 'You're worried about your sister, Julie and her boyfriend.. Luke?' Nini replied. The boy gaped.

_How the heck did she know that?_

_'_ Okay, my turn.' 'Go ahead.' 'Oh, you like sunflowers? That's so random!' Nini exclaimed at Gina, who laughed softly. 'EJ?' 'Yep. I'm ready. ' Nini looked at him, concentrating and then burst into laughter. 'Seriously, that's your name? I'm sorry, but that's too good of a name to not laugh to.' _Oh no I'm doomed,_ EJ thought to himself as he stepped aside to join Aaron and the others.

Ricky stepped up in front of her with a cheeky grin. Nini scrunched her nose as she tried to read his thoughts, but she couldn't. It was empty. 'I don't know.' she said, with a sigh after two minutes. 'Well, I was thinking of how gorgeous you are, Neens.' he said, which made her blush; and she looked down at the ground to try and cover it.

'It looks like you can't read only his thoughts Nini. But hey, we at least know your powers now.' Zack noted, as the others nodded. 'Anyways, Aaron, since you seem quick with your reflexes, how about we test it out?', Kim suggested.

They spent the rest of the morning testing out Aaron's reflexes and learning more about their powers from the book of Ranger Code. 'Okay so that's a wrap on chapters 1 through 5. ' Zack announced. Everyone nodded happily and continued to practice either boxing or defense.

+  
 _Evening._

'Hey guys.. I wanted to show you all something. Follow me.' Zack said, keeping his water bottle down. The teens were drenched in sweat, the shade of the tree which they were sitting under, giving them respite. They nodded reluctantly and got up and followed him into a deeper part of the forest, where they spotted a metallic door, that looked out of place.

He opened the door by keying in some digits on a keypad on the door. It seemed like an endless corridor, bright white lights lighting it up. 'Let's go!' Zack entered first, walking coolly, with Kim as EJ and Gina followed behind looking around. Aaron nonchalantly moved forward, his hands in his pockets, as usual. Nini stuck with Ricky and inspected the place, as they walked together

_It seemed pretty new, built a few years ago, give or take._

Everyone's thoughts, except Ricky's could be heard in her head. Half of them were wondering where this led to and the other half was excited.

_What could this lead to?_

_»_   
_A/N_

_Thank you all for all the love and support.. I hope to make this a 45 part story.. let's see where this goes.._

_Stream Slow Down by Why Don't We!_

_See you all on the next one!_   
_As always, all my love,_   
_~MJ♡._

_2K words._


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